Australian Bees Banned By APHIS
By Alan Harman
With little public fanfare, the United States has banned the importation of honey bee queens and package bees from Australia.
Minister Counselor (Agriculture) Simon Smalley at the Australian Embassy in Washington and a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (ASPHIS) both confirm the move made towards the end of last month.
Both say there is a “temporary suspension” of the imports, but the APHIS website has a one sentence reference that reads:
“Importation of honey bee queens and package bees from Australia is prohibited.”