Importing package bees by the truckload?

[Norton]

Unconfirmed reports indicate around 50% infestation in hives examined in SIA. So it has been present for a while and has probably spread outside the SIA. Time is on the SHB side.......

 

[alanf]

Unconfirmed reports indicate around 50% infestation in hives examined in SIA. So it has been present for a while and has probably spread outside the SIA. Time is on the SHB side.......

SIA - ... Isolation Area? You mean the 100 km zone that has been mentioned by Defra and elsewhere? If that's the case, it's obviously a lot wider spread than just the first zone it was discovered in. Along with the fact this was first spotted in a University hive set up for monitoring, that does suggest it's not easy to spot in the early stages. Many beekeepers have opened hives in the area which were infected and not seen it. Several generations must have been breeding and spreading by now, in 10 km hops if the descriptions are correct. Could be at the channel within a few years just by hive to hive infection.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Some good stuff here http://www.clemson.edu/extension/beekeepers/publications/small_hive_bettle_ipm.html

<ADD>It gives a good example of what I am on about, albeit a bit theoretical perhaps in our climate. "Scientists have discovered that African worker bees readily remove unprotected SHB eggs and larvae. " So should we Africanize? I am guessing bee farmers may say "yes", and deal with the behavioural traits, while hobbyists would be stuffed.</ADD>

 

[Norton]

Sia

Statutory Infected Area

 

[DanBee]

There are two zones in play as I understand it:

100Km zone - no movement of bees etc. into or out of this zone, movement allowed within the zone, except:

16Km zone - standstill zone centred on first identified case. No movement of bees etc. at all in this zone. Think of Foulbrood standstill orders (but they are only 3Km).

I may have the 16Km wrong and it may be 18Km, but you get the drift.

There will undoubtedly be a 'discovery phase' now where lots more infestations are found in the region of this outbreak, and perhaps around other ports or where bees have recently gone to from the infested apiaries. It will sound like an alarming spread but in reality it is probably more that the cases are being seen because they are being looked for, the beetle has been in for a while, and it has been spread unknowingly.

The same happened here when Varroa was found in 1992 - it suddenly appeared in a number of places, and was estimated to have been here for 2-3 years upon discovery. You can see this on the BeeBase maps - tick the box for 'varroa inspections' and select '1992' and 'Y' in the drop-downs to the right, then hit 'update map'. There you see all the positives for varroa in the year it was first detected, although there is much clustering they are actually alarmingly widespread.

If you instead tick 'small hive beetle' (choose a year if you like) you will see the precautionary inspections that have taken place across the UK. Tick also 'exotic risk points' and you will see that these 'sentinel apiaries' map pretty closely to known points of entry - ports, airports, cargo depots, etc.