Hello Barry and All,
I am still learning about the SHb and you probably are better informed than
I am about SHB but I might could answer a couple of your questions with
things I have learned.

> I'm fascinated by all the trouble the SHB is causing in your climes.
> Has any research been done on why this creature is ignored by
> beekeepers with scutellata?

Very little research has been done but research is ongoing in Florida by
Dave Westervelt.  None in the americas with with scuts and the SHB. Dr.
Shiminuki was always puzzled at why the SHB was causing the problems in the
U.S. when only a minor problem in your country.
>
> If I look long enough in a scut hive, I will eventually find a few SHBs.
> Scuts do not tolerate them. We certainly don't treat for the pest. The
> implication must be that scuts have some kind of mechanism to
> almost completely suppress the SHB; probably hygienic behaviour.

Interesting as our bees can not really get a hold on the beetle and evict
them from the hive. They seem to finnally simply ignore the SHB. Once the
hive is *slimed* the bees want to abscound I am told.

>
> Also, I don't find the beetles causing trouble where I store empty
> (used) hives and comb. But I always ensure these storage areas are
> accessible to birds, mainly the two kinds of honeyguides that are
> always around.

Maybe the shb in your country lays its eggs away from the hive. The SHb in
Florida seems to swoop in on a weak hive and lay eggs. Also loves to lay
eggs in the honey house in supers waiting to be extracted.
>
> The only time SHB's explode inside a scut hive is during summer
> when the colony is in the intermediate to advanced stages of
> succumbing to capensis. In such situation the colony is doomed, SHB
> or not.

It would seem to me the SHb in your country lives away from the hive most of
the time and preys only on weak hives.  Maybe the same scenario will develop
in our country.  Wax moths live away from the hive and then come in and
ravage weak hives.  They are certainly not the primary cause of hive death
but are found in most dying hives in summer.  "Wax *worms*  killed my hive!"
is not a accurate statement but one I hear over and over again from many
hobby beekeepers.
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison
Odessa, Missouri