it is my sincere belief that the lamentable but inevitable introduction of
varroa into nz will result in a significant disruption of the apicultural
scenario...
however, in my opinion, the direct effect of varroa will not be as damaging
as the many misguided attempts to manage the mites, ranging from quarantines
to treatments...
would strongly suggest a laissez-faire approach towards natural/ artificial
selection of survivor stocks, both feral and domestic, with minimal
manipulations in order to reduce beekeeper-induced stress and encourage
tolerance/resistance in the bee population as a whole...
a careful review of the global experience with this parasite will reveal
that the indirect effects of secondary pathogens (especially activated/
vectored viruses) as well as the strain/species of varroa introduced
may well be the critical factors, and the maintenance of biodiversity in
the exotic host species (apis mellifera) is crucial to their survival...
with this in mind, aided perhaps by beekeeper subsidies to stay the course,
the situation should stabilize within a decade or so and a re-normalized
apiculture will be the result, avoiding bee-products' chemical contamination
and perpetual pharmaceutical dependency...
best of luck in your monumental endeavor!