I am glad Jim brought this hearing to our attention. I, for one, will write and say that I am not opposed to importation of germplasma but am opposed to importation of live bees. While neither New Zealand or Australia have Tropiaelaps or the Cape Bee, both are, as Jim says, very close in geographic terms. Especially Australia and Tropiaelaps. BTW, Tropiaelaps has successfully migrated from Dorsata to Mellifera in Asia and I am advised that its destructive capability make Varroa look like lambs! We got ourselves into this with one of the trade treaties we signed. Basically, we no longer can ban imports without a very good reason. Since neither country has either of the pests mentioned, it is legally questionable whether we can ban live animal imports based solely on their being nearer to the pests home than ourselves. Lloyd Lloyd Spear, Owner of Ross Rounds, manufacturer of comb honey equipment for beekeepers and Sundance pollen traps. http://www.rossrounds.com [log in to unmask]