Juanse, I'm a bit surprised that this is "breaking news," as Dr Anderson
detailed his finding of the new strain of Varroa jacobsoni at the 2009 ABF
convention in Sparks!

Bob, I don't agree with your contention that varroa in Australia will be no
big issue!
 I would also disagree that

> >"most Australian beekeepers are vary familiar with methods used around the
> world to control varroa."


Heck, I just returned from speaking to US beekeepers in Hawaii, who were not
at all familiar with methods of varroa management!

>
> >Regardless the same methods will control Varroa D.& mutant Varroa J.


I'm a bit surprised by this assertion, given that we don't know the details
of its life cycle, nor how it will interact with Varroa destructor!

I for one am not so ho-hum about yet another mite potentially infesting our
colonies.  We may find that the two mites gain resistance to miticides
differently, or infest colonies at different times of the year, or perhaps
carry or activate different viruses.

The Aussie bee exporters are I'm sure concerned, since if this mite is
brought to Australia (a very easy task what with the canoe traffic between
the islands and the mainland, often carrying bee hives), then World Trade
Organization rules would allow the US and other countries to prohibit import
of Aussie bees.

Randy Oliver

             ***********************************************
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