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Author Topic: Not very favourable comments on our Aussie packages for export  (Read 5882 times)

Offline ozebee

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Some very interesting comments on our Aussie export packages on another forum:
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?279083-Australian-4-LB-Packages

Not very good advertising for our exports!

Offline Vance G

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Re: Not very favourable comments on our Aussie packages for export
« Reply #1 on: March 11, 2013, 02:15:20 am »
Your stock has little resistence to North American bee pathenogens is the problem.  I hope our bugs don't make it your way.

Online max2

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Re: Not very favourable comments on our Aussie packages for export
« Reply #2 on: March 11, 2013, 03:42:14 am »
I had understood that exports where suspended for some reason?
In the past they used to ship ( well, fly) 1000's of packages in time for Almond pollination. After the job was done they where of little value. I always wonderd how the economics worked?

Offline Geoff

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Re: Not very favourable comments on our Aussie packages for export
« Reply #3 on: March 11, 2013, 08:33:39 pm »
  Whats the situation over there now ? Notice the date of the last post, April 2012. There has been 12 months of water gone under the bridges since then.
Local Area Network in Australia - the LAN down under.

Offline ozebee

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Re: Not very favourable comments on our Aussie packages for export
« Reply #4 on: March 11, 2013, 09:50:43 pm »
The posts are current. April 2012 was the join date of the poster.

Offline OzBuzz

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Re: Not very favourable comments on our Aussie packages for export
« Reply #5 on: March 11, 2013, 11:28:56 pm »
I think it's a bit rough to say that Aussie Packages are no good! it would be more accurate to say that Aussie Packages may not be suited to the pressures which bees are exposed to in the USA/Canada - after all if the conditions were suitable for bee survival then they wouldn't be relying so heavily on Australian packages... Australia has an advantage over the USA & Canada in that our bees aren't exposed to some the diseases that the USA/Canada are! does that make our bees better or worse?

I'm certainly not going to advocate bringing Queens in from the USA so that we can raise package bees for the USA market - we have to be fiercely protective around the biosecurity aspects of our beekeeping industry and champion the fact that we're still free of diseases that others have to deal with - look after our own backyard first.

Moots

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Re: Not very favourable comments on our Aussie packages for export
« Reply #6 on: March 12, 2013, 09:16:15 am »
I think it's a bit rough to say that Aussie Packages are no good! it would be more accurate to say that Aussie Packages may not be suited to the pressures which bees are exposed to in the USA/Canada. .. Australia has an advantage over the USA & Canada in that our bees aren't exposed to some the diseases that the USA/Canada are! does that make our bees better or worse?


So, maybe they should say they're "no good" for Beeks in the USA and Canada?  It kind of seems like we're splitting hairs here.

As for saying that Australian bees have an advantage...I'd say they're better and an advantage, as long as they remain unexposed to the diseases and pest in question.  The second you place them in an environment where they will become exposed to those, I think you've just lost the advantage and it becomes a liability.

At least that's my overly simplistic, marginally informed, newbie view of the situation.... :)

Offline rawfind

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Re: Not very favourable comments on our Aussie packages for export
« Reply #7 on: March 15, 2013, 01:36:53 am »
Some very interesting comments on our Aussie export packages on another forum:
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?279083-Australian-4-LB-Packages

Not very good advertising for our exports!

You find that there are a lot of beekeepers that have "their ways" of doing things so too there will be those that have their opinion on aussie bees, no body will force anyone to buy them i guess, there is always many variables to consider  , live life be happy  :)

Offline Wonga

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Re: Not very favourable comments on our Aussie packages for export
« Reply #8 on: March 15, 2013, 08:03:54 am »
Well, isn't this about lack of Varoa resistance due to zero exposure? I think we should be looking at some sort of controlled importation of queens from N.Z, although maybe that increases our risk here in oz of importing Varoa too. . . . . Anyway, once the Varoa hits here we will have to import their. More resistant stock anyway.

Online max2

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Re: Not very favourable comments on our Aussie packages for export
« Reply #9 on: March 22, 2013, 05:21:41 am »
Hi Wonga - I think we can do our bit BEFORE Varroa hits us. I have been selecting "hygienic" queens for a while. It seesm to help with SHB and I would expect that it could offer an advantage when the big V hits us. We need to observe our bees and make sure we have the best stock.

Offline CJ

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Re: Not very favourable comments on our Aussie packages for export
« Reply #10 on: April 05, 2013, 10:07:56 am »
Hi Wonga - I think we can do our bit BEFORE Varroa hits us. I have been selecting "hygienic" queens for a while. It seems to help with SHB and I would expect that it could offer an advantage when the big V hits us. We need to observe our bees and make sure we have the best stock.

I was only talking about this today with a friend. It would seem wise to me to add certain practices as part of your normal routines/set up before varroa arrives. Screened bottoms, breeding smaller bees/4.9mm cells, selective breeding from hygienic strains etc. So if/when it does arrive you aren't as far behind the 8 ball...?

Offline Nimrod

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Re: Not very favourable comments on our Aussie packages for export
« Reply #11 on: April 05, 2013, 12:23:56 pm »
I don't think there is anything wrong with Aussie bees as long as they are at home.  However, that changes when you change their environment.  The U.S. is eat up with bee problems, from bugs on bees to killer bees and all in between. 

I would suggest that you start a program to address the problems facing bees in the U.S. and around the world because it is only a short time before the enemy will be at your gate and believe me, that time is coming

Offline fshrgy99

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Re: Not very favourable comments on our Aussie packages for export
« Reply #12 on: April 12, 2013, 10:43:43 am »
I am a reasonably new beekeeper but already gearing up to go to foundationless frames and regressing to natural cell size. I was very surprised when I treated my hive in Sep at the number of varroa the bees were cleaning out. A local beek at this months meeting announced that he had decided to skip V treatment last fall and has lost 6 of 6 hives (it has been a hard long winter and spring has still not set in).

What is the norm for cell size in your Aussie hives? Are you using plastic foundation or wax? I am optimistic that if I can get my bees building small cell that the results will be varroa resistant hives. I have learned so much thanks to the info freely shared (and much appreciated) by those with years of experience.

d