Someone at the NZ MAF said:

> New Zealand remains free of the beehive pest Aethina tumida

Apparently, so does Australia.
The most recent word on the subject is that Australia has a different, but similar beetle.
Since it looks so different to the naked eye, it may even get a different name.

> The New Zealand Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (NZ MAF) wish to
> advise that New Zealand is free of A tumida, and has stringent border
> controls to prevent the entry of pests, backed up by a nation-wide beehive
> surveillance programme.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again:

        An Absence of Proof Is NOT Proof of Absence

It should be no surprise that this philosophy works as well for bee pests/diseases as
it does for "weapons of mass destruction", since bee pests/diseases ARE "weapons
of mass destruction".

> MAF is aware that some international importers of honey bees assume that
> pests and diseases which are found in Australia will also be found in New Zealand.

Many of us outside New Zealand have had enough schooling to read, write, do sums, and
tell the difference between land and ocean on a map or globe.  Some of us have even noticed
the time zone differences between NZ and Oz.

Everyone is becoming aware that some international exporters of honeybees assume
that pests and diseases not found by MAF are not present in New Zealand.  We keep
waiting for the next shoe to drop, since a monitoring program that misses varroa
for years can miss just about anything else.

> In fact, New Zealand is separated from Australia by over 2000 km of ocean.

This level of protection should let everyone in New Zealand rest easy.
Is it any wonder that they rest of us want the same level of protection currently
enjoyed by New Zealand, where port-of-entry inspection is the rule, rather than
the exception?

        Tongue firmly planted in cheek,

                jim