In message <065201c5db61$1bbcdd00$03bc59d8@BusyBeeAcres>, Bob Harrison
<[log in to unmask]> writes
>You could import your German queen/queens by way of Australia right now but
>the entry into Australia would run thousands of dollars.

OK, cant resist this one.

1. German blacks is a bit of a misnomer anyway, it is the Northern
European Black bee, A.m.m. Here are a huge range of local ecotypes, yes
there are and were German ones. But also there are Pyrenees ones, Irish
ones, British ones, and lots more. All the way from the north of Spain
to the arctic circle, and stock can be got from all these areas.

2. They are generally not small bees. Perhaps you have a local ecotype
there that is small enough to get in the louvres, but here they would be
the bees least likely to get in there.

3. They are not always aggressive. Some are, some are not. Selection
away from aggression is perfectly possible. Look up the Galtee Breeding
Group in Ireland if you are sceptical.

4.They exist in Australia already. It is not necessary to import fresh
stock. I am well aware of there being a conservation area for these bees
in Tasmania, and recently, when Trevor Weatherhead visited me, he told
me that the Cape York peninsula in the north east also has these bees.
--
Murray McGregor

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