Subject: Re: Importation of Bee Semen into the USA (What do you think?)On Wed,

From: [email-masked] (Adam Finkelstein)
Date: 23 Mar 1996 13:26:32 GMT

Thanks for posting the bee semen letter Andy. A very interesting topic--if
anyone wants the bee-l letters and cannot get them, ask me an I'll show you
how via archived bee-l.

Summary: Importation of honey bee semen into the United States is illegal.
Some want to change the law, some do not. 

Adam
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Adam Finkelstein                    
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Andy Nachbaur)
Date: Thu, 21 Mar 1996 03:17:00 GMT

0 Mar 1996, my name is Dean M. Breaux wrote:

*BS from the other group that should be of interest to those who don't
subscribe to B-List..

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RN>From: Roy Nettlebeck <[email-masked]>
  >Date:         Wed, 20 Mar 1996 08:08:37 -0800
  >Subject:      Re: Importation of Bee Semen into the USA (What do you think?)

RN>Hello , Dean, you did a beautiful job on your post. As we speak there is
  >some work a foot to get the law changed and semen into the US.It will not

Hello Roy and all,

  The old law is a regulatory plan that gives a few in the USDA a
monopoly on the importation of bee semen and bees. To some beekeepers
and non beekeepers this give's them some feeling of security, but in
reality the US quarantine and importation laws on bees and their pests
"has not" prevented the introduction of exotic pests during the last 74
years, but for sure it has prevented the useful commercial search and
introduction of new beekeeping stock, useful or not.

  I am one of those who does not believe that these new exotic pests
and/or genetic material that has come to the US unregulated did so just
because of clandestine importation of bees by beekeepers. But that is
always the easy case to make, and for sure work done in SA on developing
better honey producing bees using African stock will be made into a case
for bee laws. BTW, the spread of this stock originally introduced under
controlled conditions by regulators and government scientists was added
to by government sponsored programs to introduce the same improved stock
into several countries other then the original and not widely reported
by the media or bee scientists involved.

  In any case the very same stock was freely imported into the US in the
1900's direct from Africa prior to bee quarantine laws without any long
lasting harmful effects, and the remitments of these early importations
can still be found in isolated areas of the western US. At the time
of the stock importations they were tested by bee scientists and
beekeepers and it was found that Afro bees were more testy then US or
some European stock, but nothing compared to stock from the islands of
Greece. No record exists of any of this stock being managed in any way
to prevent swarms or drones from doing what they do, and for many years
some very fine bee's other then the bee's we know today were reared and
sold by some exceptional California bee breeders from this original
period of open importations.

  If we are to believe that the few in the USDA and other government
sponsored bee research agencies have the skills, knowledge, and
resources to work for the benefit of all beekeepers then it is best to
leave well enough alone. But if some believe like I do that a beekeeper
in a free economy should have the right to fail on his own and the
beekeeper should be the one who decides what is best for his self with
the best advice and knowledge available, then maybe the bee quarantine
law should be on the short list for repeal in the next session of
congress. One reason the law was not repealed in the near past is
because at one time the export of US bees was dependent on good
external quarantine laws. Since then most of the US bee export
customers have demonstrated that they are not dependent on US bees
anyway, and the export market is very small and of little importance
with the exception to a few bee breeders.

  The problem with the US bee quarantine law as it now stands is that it
can not be enforced, not that beekeepers are with regularity importing new
genetic bee material but it does happen because there is NO way to
really stop it. A vial of semen can be sent first class person to person
air post in a regular envelope from most any country in the world
without detection and it has happened even if only accidentally within
the US research community. Individual mated queens in plastic cages can
be carried in a pocket from any country in the world without detection
and also can be sent first class air mail in a small envelope without
a problem.

Bee's with pests that are not acceptable in the USA can legally enter
Canada and then legally come to the US. And some believe that
bee's from the left coast have been used in Mexico pollination projects
and it is not clear if they were returned, if not by now there must be a
mountain of bee hives in those areas of Mexico that rent honey bees for
melon pollination.<G>

RN>I was cheating a little,I'm after the almound
  >growers ,they have a lot of money to loose if we keep loosing bees.
  > I have sent a letter to Dr. Rinderer about 2 weeks ago about this
  >subject. The truth of the matter is simple. Old law needs change. Who

  Well this is something that may surprise many, Almonds were grown in
California for 50 years without any question of having bees. The early
fruit tree scientists until the late 1950's did not consider bees in almond
culture, and only the active promotion by beekeepers, bee science, and
bee extension has resulted in a need for bees to pollinate almonds. The
beekeepers has the most to lose and should be careful about calling on
others for help. The money beekeepers receive from the almond industry
for pollination should be more then enough to do a lot more research or
whatever political action is needed, and only with a real plan in hand
should we turn to others for help. The US almond industry has real
weather related problems resulting in a poor crop last season ('95) of
375 million pounds, and the prospects of less this year, still too early
to tell, but from my limited observation made today (3-21-96) on three
large orchards it looks like it will be much less the last year.

  It is also well to remember that all good things in agriculture go bad
in the end, its the law of the jungle or something, nothing is forever,
what goes up comes down, and beekeepers should always have a head's up
attitude to prevent damage to their heads. At the same time things that
seem to be hopeless have a way of coming back. Beekeeping, at least, the
exceptional yields from commercial exploitation of bee pasture has never
been a phenomenon that lasted long. Dr. Bailey told me the overcrowding
of bee pasture was responsible for most of our pathological bee
problems, and I believe he was right. Pollination money from almonds has
taken up some of the slack for the majority of the commercial bee
industry, but it also has resulted in overcrowding and a biological
acceleration of the problems that plague the industry today.

Anyway, two millions acres of almonds have been planted the last 30
years in the Mediterranean and no mention of mass bee migration to
pollinate them. It would take little research money to find out how they
do it without paying millions out in pollination rentals to attract
bees, or if their crop could be increased by having more bees. Something
we have never been able to prove here in California as there has never
been a almond orchard in bloom that did not attract some bees if the
weather was right. This year ('96) came as close to a year when bees
could not get out at all because of poor flight conditions as any, but
some almonds will be produced. Cage tests have only proven the bias of
caged trees during the critical light early spring days, and the cages
with bees did not produce significantly better then the cages without
bees. Few growers grow their almonds in cages anyway.

                           ttul Andy-

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