David Goble's Kangaroo Island may be the Varroa-free isolated location that
we dream of, but Maryland (and much of the rest of the world) certainly
isn't.   You may start with Varroa free colonies, but they won't stay that
way very long.
 
A wise observation  from my son, made while helping me with ether roll Varroa
tests last August (and getting stung in the process):
 
"Why are we doing this?   Testing bees for Varroa is like testing air to see
if there's nitrogen in it".
 
W. G. Miller
Gaithersburg, MD