Scot.
The U.S. news release said the SHB find came in from Australia.
Sooner or later SHB will find its way into Australia package producers
hives and will be an issue. Medhat and myself are only presenting the facts
as we know right now.
Has not the list learned from our posts?
An article being published by two California beekeepers in October says
about Australain packages that they are "free of varroa but not small hive
beetle".
Not true !
No package shipment sent in the U.S. or Canada has had the form checked as
containing SHB to my knowledge (and information I recieved three nights
ago). The form has all items the countries have asked checked for on the
form. Only those present are checked.
I live in Northwest Missouri and we have never had a small hive beetle find
in the hives of Busy Bee Acres Apiairies inc. or Bell Hill Honey Farm.
One year all the hives were inspected four times by various inspectors!
Hives from these operations have been going into California each year for
a long time. No beetles brought back.
Other areas of Missouri like the bootheel and the St. Louis area have got
plenty of SHB. Eventually the whole state will get SHB I suppose but for
now our area is SHB free. LIKE AREAS OF AUSTRALIA!
My honey house (HH)is full of supers to be extracted this week which have
been in the HH for up to a month. No SHB!
Outside are some deadouts which SHB could not resist! No SHB!
I have been sitting out pallets of extracting supers with a small amount of
nectar or honey to be cleaned up by the bees before going into the storage
container. Some have had brood in before. No SHB!
I am actually suprised at us not getting SHb before now since the first SHB
finds were over five years ago!
In Australia some package people might not get SHB for another five years.
-- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/bee-l for rules, FAQ and other info ---