The distance from the site where varroa were first found to 
Honolulu Airport (5 miles) forces me to wonder if any of those 
"plane changing bees" from NZ might have escaped, flown towards 
a light (assuming that they are still only allowed on planes 
that land at night) and formed a swarm.

The proximity of the site to the Honolulu harbor is closer 
(3 miles), but the length of even the fastest ocean voyage
to Hawaii from anywhere makes me wonder how a swarm could 
survive that long.  While an AHB colony certainly could set 
up shop in a cargo container and put up enough stores to 
survive the trip, this seems unlikely, as the varroa-infested 
bees were not described as "defensive", and we have to give 
AHB credit for expanding more quickly than varroa can. 

Does anyone know someone involved in USDA APHIS at Honolulu 
Airport that could be able to confirm/deny any "incidents" 
in the transshipment of bees from overseas?

Alternative scenarios for the introduction of varroa to the 
island of Oahu are welcome, but varroa can't be kept alive 
for long away from bees, even in lab environments, so I think 
we need to focus on how bees infested with varroa could have 
gotten past the various plant/animal inspections, and thereby 
rule out sources other than the transshipment of bees forced 
upon Hawaii by APHIS as a part of the WTO process.

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