>>Steve Pearce wrote. >Once introduced, alien germplasm will be very difficult to remove from a >population of honeybees, where it is impossible to contain or totally >control the matings with the native/feral population. This is not so >important for instance in cattle semen importation, as the offspring are >not going to range around the countryside uncontrollably, or hide up >trees etc. I am suprised that no-one has remembered the fiasco of unrestrained importation. Firstly, the bees imported into Brazil. Secondly, somebody, somewhere brought in both T-mite and Varroa, both of which needed a host to get across the pond. Even now some are stupid enough to import bees even while there are quarantines in operation. Only recently a guy was fined over $500 CDN, he was found to have queens in his pocket, brought into British Columbia from California. Some never seem to learn!!! **************************************************** * David Eyre 9 Progress Drive, Unit 2, * * The Beeworks, Orillia, Ontario, L3V 6H1. * * [log in to unmask] 705-326-7171 * * http://www.muskoka.net/~beeworks * * Agents for: E H Thorne & B J Sherriff UK. * ****************************************************