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apisanitas.HONEY BEE HEALTH
Hygiene and biosecurity

Apiary biosecurity

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Key points

  • Most serious diseases arrive with bees, equipment or honey from elsewhere.
  • Buy queens and colonies from inspected producers, never from infested areas.
  • Never feed honey of unknown origin.
  • Register your hives: that is how you get warned of a nearby outbreak.

Biosecurity covers the habits that stop a disease getting into the apiary, then moving from colony to colony. It costs little and prevents the worst situations1.

How diseases get in

  • Colonies, packages and queens bought or swapped.
  • Second-hand equipment: hives, combs, extractors.
  • Honey and pollen of unknown origin fed to bees.
  • Captured wild swarms.
  • Robbing of a sick or dead colony nearby.

Habits at the gate

  1. Buy colonies and queens from producers under health monitoring, and never from areas affected by Aethina tumida or Tropilaelaps.
  2. Isolate new colonies and captured swarms in a separate apiary for a few weeks, while you check brood and varroa.
  3. Inspect and disinfect any second-hand equipment before use.
  4. Never feed bought honey or honey of unknown origin: it is a classic route for American foulbrood3.
Photo needed — Quarantine apiary set apart from the main apiary, with numbered nucs.

Limiting spread within the apiary

  • Reduce entrances during dearth and avoid spilling syrup or honey.
  • Never leave a dead colony open: close it up and remove it.
  • Number hives and record comb swaps so you can trace a contamination.
  • Work from healthy colonies to doubtful ones, never the reverse.

Traceability

In France, every colony must be declared each year between 1 September and 31 December, from the first hive. This lets the veterinary authorities warn neighbouring beekeepers when a notifiable disease breaks out2. Check the registration rules in your own country.

References

  1. FAO, IZSLT, Apimondia, CAAS (2021). Good beekeeping practices for sustainable apiculture. FAO Animal Production and Health Guidelines No. 25.
  2. Apiculture 69. Regulatory reminder: apiary declaration and regulated diseases (in French). apiculture69.fr
  3. WOAH. Terrestrial Animal Health Code, chapter 9.2: Infection of honey bees with Paenibacillus larvae. woah.org

Updated : October 8, 2026
Written by : Apisanitas editorial team
Reviewed by : Review in progress