“If there is any possibility at all for controlling the invasion of the Asian honey bee, for the sake of innumerable industries and livelihoods, the price of food and the existing balance in the Australian landscape, we should at least be willing to give it our best shot.”

That is a fair assessment based on the science. But who, with the political authority to do so, is going to take notice? The politicians in charge seem “to have no need for men of science” as evidenced in the resignation with dignity of Penny Sackett from her position as Australia’s Chief Scientist.

“to have no need for men of science”
Colinsett,
No need for such people ? No-one's saying that at all. what is being said is that we need people who can produce science not perpetual no-result research. By all means employ people to do research but do it at normal wage level. If they do hit onto something great & useful then by all means be generous with benefits.

Bees are always good for a scare story, whether it's 'killer bees' migrating north or hives dying from fungal attacks worldwide. What the stories invariably fail to mention is that most domestic bees are clones bred up on an annual basis from a single queen, so solving widespread problems is just a matter of finding a resistant queen to rebreed resistant populations. Not always easy, but hardly a basis for global panic.

The 'killer bees' lost their ferocity through interbreeding with domestic bees. Whether the Asian bees can or will do the same I don't know. But I will be very surprised if the commercial honey or agriculture sectors look any different, bee-wise, in ten years than they do now.

PS: But you get a gold star for not mentioning Global Warming.

Sounds like dodgy science to me, just like global warming. It's cyclical, and gods will. So get ya facts straight before you open your mouth.

Unfortunately what people feel or what they personally believe or what it "sounds like" because they have had a chat with a mate who knows someone, or has formed a personal opinion from a talk back radio segment is not a true representation of the "facts". What has been stated here about killer bees, genetics and bee breeding is so way off the mark that there is no room to beginning addressing it - except to briefly mention that like in other countries, honeybees have been wild and prolifically sharing their genetic stock in the Australian bush for almost 200 years so they certainly don't all descend from a single supplier.

Scientifically, the facts are that Asian bees are a pest that will impact upon Australia's agriculture. This is taken directly from the dpi website:

The Asian honeybee:
- is the natural host for varroa mites, a major threat to Australia's honeybee industry
- is a vector for other bee diseases and pests
- competes with managed honeybees for floral resources
- robs honey from managed bee hives, which may cause hives to die from starvation
- aggressively protects nests and will sting people. A sting from an Asian honeybee could cause an anaphylactic reaction in allergy-prone people
- multiplies rapidly and may take over nesting sites for native bees, birds and native mammals, threatening biodiversity
- is not suitable for managed pollination of crops themselves. Increased numbers of managed European honeybee hives are likely to be required for pollination due to their strength being reduced by the presence of Asian honeybees in the area. Inadequate pollination of crops affects the quality and quantity of agricultural and horticultural food production.

The Australian Beekeepers Association is organising a rally at Parliament House on March 2nd to try and reverse the governments decision to give up trying to stop the spread of this pest, and a free ALL DAY honey and fruit breakfast. More information and a government email petition can be found at http://www.securefoodsavebees.com/