> If there are beekeepers in the US who would like the opportunity
> to buy NZ queens and bees, I would urge you to (1) contact the
> USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service and lobby for a
> more timely gazetting of the notice and/or (2) contact me,
> allowing me to compile a list of supportive US beekeepers to
> assist our lobbying of the US officials.
>
> It is bureaucracy that is keeping you from having the choice to
> buy our bees now, not science...
 
Just out of curiosity, why would J. Random Beekeeper, as a US bee hobbiest
or commercial beekeeper, want NZ bees or queens?  From a posting from
a Canadian beekeeper they'd be quite expensive compared to bees raised in
our southern states.  (But I'm sure they'd appreciate the flight!)  Do you
claim to have some super queen breeds or something?  And "they're disease-
free" isn't really a reason, bees from the US are guaranteed not to introduce
new diseases into the US, and bees from a quality supplier will not be
diseased anyway.
 
-Mike