I was wondering what the story was in Malta and came across an article which seems very much a copy of foreign newspaper's reports on CCD, giving general info on the disorder even though we do not have CCD in Malta (as yet, knock on wood. Honey is already hard to come by). Something which was unique to the article was the following snippet:
"Malta and Gozo seem not to have yet experienced these major unexplained losses. However, some of the greatest local losses come from parasites, such as the Varroa mite which was identified in Malta in August 1992 after having been accidentally introduced through the importation of foreign bees. Varroa killed two-thirds of the bee colonies in Malta and it has now established itself in practically every colony in Malta and Gozo. It weakens the bees, spreads viruses, reduces their immune systems and makes them vulnerable.
The importation of foreign species of bees did not help. In 1997, an endemic sub-species of Maltese honey bee, Apis mellifera ruttneri, was identified. This native Maltese honey bee was found to be very intensive in cleaning itself and the colony from foreign intruders, such as Varroa. The introduction of non-native species has exposed the Maltese honey bee to introgressive hybridisation – leading to loss of valuable traits shaped by natural selection over the years. This presents a clear threat to the conservation of this unique honey bee."
I guess some beekeepers have it good, with bees able to take care of themselves against parasites, but in the end maybe people will shoot themselves in the foot anyway.
In general, I am perplexed how a country like America which takes some things VERY seriously and almost to an extreme, could then take other issues so passively. For example, the article on the GotMead facebook page which states an alarming percentage of honey in the U.S.A is not even technically 'honey' comes to mind