Interesting conversation.  I used to work at Kona Queen on the island of
Hawaii and exported tens of thousands of queens all over the world.  Because
Hawaii was so isolated and the bees were so disease-free, there were no good
excuses to keep them out of any country.

Actually, what I found out is that the decision to import bees was mostly
political.  In many cases two neighboring countries, each not much bigger
than some of the counties here in Minnesota, had very different regulations!

Also, more than a few countries claimed to be open to queen imports, but
placed ridiculous restrictions on incoming shipments.  Examples would be
fatally long quarantines and impossible paperwork.

In light of the damaged caused by previous imports (both legal and illegal)
into certain countries, it is easy to understand the hesitancy surrounding
bee imports/exports.  Individual beekeepers and queen producers also take a
tremendous financial risk in transporting live queens, especially in light of
current air transport issues.  Dead queens are not worth much!

Free trade has brought this issue alive and no one is sure how to handle it.
Keep current as I think you will see some interesting developments in this
area.

Mark in Minnesota

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