Hi Everyone,

Barry wrote in part:

"When it comes down to it, isn't this really a sort of idealism that
works on
paper, but not in real life? Beekeepers move their bees into the
"Africanized zone" all the time, including yourself as you have said on
this
list before, and then move them out. Why is it okay for some but not for
others? Why is it okay for some bee breeders that sit in an area
surrounded
by AHB to raise and sell their stock, but not the Lusby's?"

Yes beekeepers move bees out of the AHB area in TX but every outfit is
sampled and verified as European by the TX Apiary Inspection Service
before they can legally move.  The outfits you describe in TX have their
stock inspected, bees sampled and European stock certified before they
can sell their queens.  If Dee wants to submit to that she can - but
first she would need to get apiary inspection services reinstated in AZ.
 In fact right now it is illegal to move bees from AZ to most other
states in the US due to the lack of an inspection service there.  Nearly
all states require that bees coming into the state be inspected and
certified to be free of diseases and pests as well as unwanted strains
of honeybees.  I have been in meetings where commercial beekeepers from
AZ have very respectfully asked how they could legally move bees out of
AZ.  Without an authorized entity to inspect and certify it just can't
be done.  Yes beekeepers do move bees out of AZ but they do so illegally
and with on assurance that they are not shipping serious disease
problems or unwanted strains of honeybees to other states where these
things do not occur.
Again I ask why would anyone want to illegally import queens from an
Africanized area when stocks with documented resistant to varroa mites
are available legally from other sources which are willing to have their
outfits inspected and sampled to verify that they are not shipping
something the rest of us don't want.  I have no problems with anyone
trying small cell or any other methods of trying to avoid the need for
chemical treatment of varroa as long as it doesn't involve illegally
moving bees.  Illegal movement of honeybees has gotten us both tracheal
and varroa mites.  There are other problems that could be easily moved
that most of us don't want.

FWIW

blane



******************************************
Blane White
MN Dept of Agriculture
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