----- Original Message -----
From: "JMitc1014" <[log in to unmask]>
Newsgroups: sci.agriculture.beekeeping
Sent: Friday, April 28, 2000 12:24 PM
Subject: NZ quarantine backed with fines, jail

> Article below from The Evening Post in Wellington, NZ (April 24). Is
it
> accurate to say that beekeeping in some Southern states of the U.S. has
been
> "devastated" by the introduction of the small hive beetle? Also, I'm
interested
> in comparing quarantines: What are the repercussions (legal and financial)
of
> violating the quarantine on moving honey bees out of Texas counties that
have
> been infested with the Africanized honey bees? And a question for New
Zealand
> beekeepers: How far across is Cook Strait?
____________________________________________

> Mite invasion exposes soft underbelly
>
> By Barry Hawkins
>
> The recent varroa bee mite discover, and snakes found at our ports,
have
> caused disquiet among industries and MAF officers responsible for
> New Zealand's border defences. THE bee mite emergency has exposed New
Zealand's
> vulnerability to organic nasties bombarding our borders.
>
> Beekeeper Don Bell sums up the feelings of many in the industry: "We've
been
> acutely aware that we were very susceptible," he says. "Sooner or later
some
> damn thing was going to happen."
>
> Honey producers in about 40 other countries live with the deadly varroa
mite
> that has been found in the northern North Island. Bell says the risk of
its
> spread here was a constant worry.
>
> "Our worst nightmare, you could say. This creature kills bees - it kills
them
> very effectively, very efficiently, very quickly."
>
> The mite has the potential to devastate honey production, and a thriving
export
> in live bees. Primary industries that depend on bees for pollination are
also
> fearful. The mite can be chemically controlled but not eradicated. Control
is
> costly and could force many small beekeepers out of business.
>
> The benefits bees bring to the economy are valued at about $ 9 billion.
They
> are essential to the production of an estimated 80 percent of the
> country's food.
>
> The mite was first found in South Auckland and might have spread to the
> horticulturally rich Bay of Plenty, although this now seems less likely.
>
> The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) has banned moving hives in
the
> North Island, and several beekeepers being investigated for
> possible breaches of the ban could face heavy fines, even jail. A big
effort is
> going into protecting South Island apiaries.
>
> Dr Barry Donovan, of Lincoln, an independent researcher specialising in
bees
> and wasps, says if the mite is confined to the North Island
> eventually the country could be split into two beekeeping provinces with a
> permanent ban on all bees and equipment moving from the North to the
South
> Island.
>
> "We could end up with border controls at South Island airports and
seaports for
> people coming from the North Island."
>
> Even then honey producers might not be safe. "We are not 100 percent
certain
> that drone bees couldn't fly across Cook Strait."
>
> But Andrew Matheson, of MAF's biosecurity authority, doubts this is much
of a
> risk.
>
> "I'd have to consult textbooks but I don't think drones could actively fly
that
> distance across water. You are talking more about (the risk of) bees being
> blown across."
>
> A successful quarantine of the North Island raises the possibility of the
South
> Island at least marketing its honey as chemical-free, thus preserving part
of
> the premium New Zealand honey has enjoyed until now.
>
> There are claims the varroa mite was deliberately released but how it got
here
> may never be known.
>
> Bell, an executive member of the National Association of Beekeepers, is
> reluctant to predict what may happen to his industry.
>
> He says other countries infested by the varroa mite have experienced a
shakeout
> of smaller operators and a drop in production.
>
> "That goes for all hive products, whether its beeswax, propolis or any of
the
> things that are currently extracted by the bee industry."
>
> Bell, whose apiary is in Sheffield, inland from Christchurch, says the
majority
> of the "public good" benefits of the industry are through pollination, and
> aren't reflected in returns to beekeepers. Neither is this very often
publicly
> recognised.
>
> He says while beekeepers are anxious about their livelihoods and keen to
learn
> how the mite got here, they aren't looking for scapegoats. "They
(beekeepers)
> are not running round like a lynch mob. They are getting on with the job
to the
> extent they can and supporting MAF. That's good. It gives a measure of
hope."
>
> There are few positives to be found, though Donovan identifies one. He
says
> overseas experience shows that wild hives in rock cavities, hollow
> trees and old buildings are eliminated by the mite. This could benefit
native
> wildlife. "Introduced bees in native environments have competed with
native
> insects and birds for pollen and nectar for 160 years."
>
> Donovan says native species can be expected to prosper with their main
> competition gone. He says because only Australia and central Africa are
varroa
> mite-free, infestation here was probably inevitable.
>
> Bad though the mite is, the honey industry has remained free of even worse
> scourges such as the small hive beetle from Africa, which has
> devastated honey production in some southern US states.
>
> European brood disease and the cape honey bee are other bee menaces New
Zealand
> has avoided. Donovan says this may be more by good luck
> than good management.
>
> Our borders are being bombarded by organisms. Many get established without
> causing too many problems.
>
> Others like the varroa mite are plague-like. Donovan says trying to erect
> totally efficient border barriers would be hugely expensive and, in the
end,
> likely to be futile.