http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20090921/BREAKING01/90921034/Reseachers%20say%20varroa%20mite%20spread%20on%20Big%20Island%20is%20inevitable

Reseachers say varroa mite spread on Big Island is inevitableHILO — In just
over a year's time, the varroa mite, a parasite that kills honeybees, has
spread from the Hilo Bay area north to Onomea and south to Pahala,
researchers say.

And it is not a matter of if, but when, the mites will spread to West
Hawaii, said Ethel Villalobos, an entomologist at the University of Hawaii's
College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.

Although it isn't known how quickly it will happen, Villalobos said it will
because bees are naturally on the move seeking sources of pollen, and
farmers and beekeepers often move hives, and can unknowingly move a colony
infested with parasite.

"The bottom line is: Varroa mites have been all over the world and the
mainland for the last 20 years, and it's substantially changed the way
agriculture is done on the mainland. It will substantially change the way we
do agriculture here," said Richard Johnson, owner of Onomea Orchards and
president of the Hawaii Tropical Fruit Growers.

"It's not the end of agriculture," he said. "It wasn't on the mainland.
We're going to have to learn to live with it, we're not going to eliminate
the varroa mite. ... It's going to become an art of living with varroa."


....

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http://apiaraucania.blogspot.com/
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