Regarding Ted Fisher request for New Zealand Honeybee health report
Mr. Cliff Van Eaton, Agricultural Advisory Officer
MAF Quality Management, Tauranga,New Zealand
Wrote to bee-l and reported the following list of pest and disease
known to exist on NZ honeybees 4/19/96
1American Foul Brood
2 Nosema
3Chalkbrood
4Sacbrood
5 cronic bee paralysis
6 black queen cell
7 acute bee paralysis virus
8 cloudy wing virus
9 bee virus X
10 bee virus Y
11 filamentous virus
12 KASHMIR BEE VIRUS
13 Amoeba disease
Mites
14 Melittiphis alvearius
15 Acarapis externus
16 A. dorsalis
17 Neocypholaelaps zealandicus
And not reported by Cliff Van Eaton
18. Melanoius found to be on NZ honetbees by Dr. T.P.Liu in Canada
Note the claim that NZ is free of EFB is doubted by all old time bee
keepers that I have interviewed.This claim that NZ is free of EFB has
in the past been an effective zoosanitary trade barrier which has been
an effective trade and economic tool for the NZ honeybee industry as this
claim prevents any honeybees, honey and or used equipment from entering
NZ . To prove a negative in science is much more difficult and under
peer review would require extensive testing. The NZ folks know they are
weak in their claim about EFB.
Now the NZ people will try to say many of these have no economic
impact on honeybees and they are still called pests and disease of honeybees.
Dr. B. V. Ball says and I quote without permission from Dr. Ball's paper
accepted Feb. 20,1995 and printed in Great Britian "Characterisation and
serological relationship of strains of Kashmir bee virus"
"It has been suggested that APV and KBV occupy the same ecological
niche (Anderson1991 ) and indeed there is good evidence that both
viruses persist as inapparent infections in nature and are probably
transmitted in a similar manner, via the salivary gland secretions of
adult bees and the food to which these secretions are added
(Baily, 1976; Anderson, 1991). However, APV has only been found
to be a cause of mortality in nature in honey bee colonies infected
with parasitic mite, Varroa jacobsoni, wheras KBV strains have been
detected directly by serology, in amounts sufficient to have been
responsible for mortality, in extracts of dead bees from colonies in
Australia, New Zealand , Fiji,and Canada , in the absence of the mite.
KBV was originally isolated from Apis cerana which has a limited
natural distribution in south-east Asia. The occurrence of strains of
KBV has now been confirmed in Apis mellifera on the continents of
North America, Europe and Australasia ( New Zealand included)
but its origins in this bee species remain obsure. KBV may be more
widely distributed than previously thought BUT ,similarly to APV
may have remained undetected in some areas of the world until the
advent of V.jacobsoni and the consequent increasd interest in honey
bee viruses.ALTERNATIVELY, trade in live bees may have introduced
virus strains to new areas."
In responce to Peter Bray posting
When 1/2 truths and truth distortion are employed in trying to
make ones point all of the contents become subject.Mr Bray
attempts to make my concerns sound like trade barrier issuses.
Quite the contrary as I am only interested in the good of US and
Hawaii honeybees which because of our isolation may have
been spared to introduction of some of the pest and disease
listed above and in the absense of facts I tend to want to go slowly
with any movement of bees through Hawaii. I have nothing to gain
as I am a very small time keeper of the bees. My concerns are felt
by other Hawaii beekeepers and my efforts are not motivatied by
a desire to be able to sell/ship bees to Canada as suggested by
Mr. Bray. This is by the way a complete distortion of the facts as
Hawaii is approved to export bees to Canada and has been
approved since mid 80's. Our bees for export are varified by
a state department of ag . entomologist with in 90 days of shipping to be
free of V & T mite and other infectious bees disease. My concerns are
for the protection of the bio-logical isolation that Hawaii has enjoyed
as the most isolated place on earth.
The facts about KBV are not clear and subject to much debate and
until a peer review panel has sorted out the truth I vote for beeing
careful when departing from the original intent of the
Honeybee Act of 1922 which was established to "prevent the introduction
and SPREAD of pests and diseases of honeybees to the United States."
The practice of shipping NZ bees through Hawaii always was a violation
of the intent of the Act and NZ and any U.S. officals involved in the
circumvention of the law should be proscecutted. All of this has now
changed as the Honeybee Act has been gutted of it's original strict
prohibition against the import of bees to the u.S. by GATT
and the World Trade Organization and is now left up to the disscretion of
the U.S.D.A. secretary of Agriculture whose decission regarding
honeybee issues is most influenced by the imput of the head of honeybee
research in America H. Shimanuki who has expressed no concern and
only support of NZ bees coming to America since his consultanting
with the NZ bee industry in the mid 80's .
I hope this posting will wake up some of the readers that this
is not some made up issue but a true concern for American
Beekeepers who are in need of help and protection if needed.
The Japanese allow NZ bees to stop and refuel on the way
to their northern hemisphere customers but they can not unload.
Hawaii is a key break and distribution point because of the huge
number of non stop direct flights to Canada and the United States
to which NZ still desire to sell their end of season bees.
Hoping everyone a honey of a week end
Walter Patton
Walter & Elisabeth Patton, 27-703 A Ka' ie'ie Rd., Papaikou HI.,96781
Ph./Fax. 808-964-5401 E-Mail hihoney@ilhawaii
Beekeeper and Bed & Breakfast Owner in Hawaii
http://www.alohamall.com/hamakua/hihoney.htm
http://www.alohamall.com/hamakua/beeware.htm
http://www.alohamall.com/hamakua/lamalani.htm
|
