>I'm told by a veteran beekeeper in Quebec that they had a Braula infestation in some imported Western Australian packages which beeks confused with Varroa, back in the day.

The packages would have been out of Tasmania and not Western Australia as Western Australia does not have Braula.  Tasmania is the only State in Australia that has Braula and, as it is an island, it has not progressed to the mainland.  We have protocols in place for things such as comb honey coming from Tasmania to the mainland to stop Braula coming to the mainland.  No live bees either except for queen bees in cages which must be inspected by State authorities before release to the beekeeper.  Even though this is in place there has not been queens from Tasmania to the mainland for many years now.

I recall that Medhat told me that when packages first came into Alberta from Tasmania that beekeepers were reporting Varroa but it was the Braula so obviously they were confused.

Trevor Weatherhead
Australia

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html