02-21-2009, 04:27 PM
Didn't mean to be a holier-than-thou killjoy. Frankly I fear the mites are past catching but I am on board with any plan that's OK with the long time beekeepers. Until just last month the state was using some milder poisons but the mites were still spreading. I know nothing about how the bees are targeted but I assume that finding a swarm or a feral hive makes their job easier...they would wipe out the hive and I am OK with that because I see no alternative. If I could push a button and kill every bug within 5 miles of Hilo I would probably do it. Without the mites the bees and whatever else is already here would bounce back on their own. With the mites.... well, it hasn't gone well anywhere else in the world.
Apparently a federal law makes it OK to ship packaged bees through Hawaii but not for release in Hawaii. This is bass-ackwards but apparently can not be superceeded by state law. Point being you can't legally buy packaged bees to raise them in Hawaii but we have to hope that New Zealand bees shipped through Hawaii are properly packaged and don't escape when some clumsy baggage handler drops their box. This isn't how it should be but at present there is not the political will to change it.
Apparently a federal law makes it OK to ship packaged bees through Hawaii but not for release in Hawaii. This is bass-ackwards but apparently can not be superceeded by state law. Point being you can't legally buy packaged bees to raise them in Hawaii but we have to hope that New Zealand bees shipped through Hawaii are properly packaged and don't escape when some clumsy baggage handler drops their box. This isn't how it should be but at present there is not the political will to change it.