> The bad news is that the prospective live-bee exporters at hand happen
> to live fairly near to Tropiaelaps and the Cape Bee, and
> want to sell live bees to anyone who will pay in US dollars.

Geography might not be your strong point...  Though it might look like only
an inch or two on your map, the water between New Zealand tropilaelaps is
wide and deep.

Contrary to some of the beliefs expressed in the list, the NZ bee industry
is not collapsing following the introduction of varroa.  North Island areas
are for the most part into the second, third (and possibly fourth) seasons
of the incursion, long enough to give the capable beekeepers the initial
experience they needed to learn to develop effective management systems.
South Island is still free of varroa entirely.

The feeling here is that if the US could get varroa and the bee industry
managed to keep going, we aren't too worried (heh, heh...).

Nick Wallingford
[log in to unmask]