Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has asked the USDA to temporarily halt the import.

[TwT]

found this on Beesource, interesting,  wanting to ban Australian honeybee importation....

http://home.ezezine.com/1636/1636-2007.09.18.10.27.archive.html

[Jerrymac]

Are the bees in Australia disappearing? If not, why not? Probably because it isn't the virus doing it.

[BeeHopper]

The study and investigation of CCD is ongoing and not complete, yet just another typical knee-jerk reaction from our wonderful politicians.  :-\

[buzzbee]

The virus may not be harmful on it's own until coupled with varroa.

[Brian D. Bray]

I believe that the Australian bees have developed a resistance to the Israeli virus as will those in the US over time.  True, Australia doesn't have Varroa yet, but when they do they will experience the same thing we did when varroa invaded the US--one huge die off.

The Israeli virus that allegedly came over with the Australian bees was just the probverbial straw that broke the camel's back.  As noted all the way back to the 1890's there have been periodic episodes of this.  Then a resistance builds up and every thing returns to "normal."  At least until the next straw falls.

Varroa is just one of those straws that is taking longer for the resistence to build up because of human intervention.  Chemical free for me!!

[BMAC]

The main Honeybee exporter from Australia come and talked to our Bee Club last year as one of the members was the first person in the states to buy his bees.  Something like 3 pallets worth of bees he bought.  So anyway he mentioned last year that the importation of honeybees to Australia is not done.  In order for him to propogate a queen from another country the queen had to remain in isolation within the realm of customs.  Once he was able to propogate that queen she was destroyed.  Terry Brown of Australia I think is his name.