Apiary biosecurity

Biosecurity covers the measures that stop a pathogen or pest from getting into an apiary, then moving from colony to colony and from apiary to apiary. It relies on habits more than on products: knowing where your bees and equipment come from, isolating whatever arrives, organising your apiaries and recording everything. The FAO guidelines on good beekeeping practices make it one of the pillars of sustainable beekeeping¹.

The stakes are high. Most major bee diseases, from American foulbrood to varroa, have spread through human action: trade in colonies and queens, hive movements, swapping of combs and honey⁸. This factsheet reviews these routes of introduction, the measures that close them and the French legal requirements.

How a disease gets in and spreads

Bee pathogens are transmitted in two ways. Vertical transmission passes from a mother colony to its offspring, through swarming or splitting. Horizontal transmission passes between unrelated colonies: drifting, robbing, and equipment swapped by the beekeeper. Practices that multiply horizontal transmission favour the most virulent agents, American foulbrood being the textbook example⁴.

Routes of introduction

Buying and swapping bees. Colonies, swarms, packages and queens are the first route in. A colony can carry many mites, viruses, or spores of foulbrood or nosema with no visible sign at the time of sale.

Second-hand equipment. Hives, drawn combs, wax, extractors and feeders bought second-hand, or recovered after a colony dies, are a major route for spore-forming diseases. Spores of Paenibacillus larvae, the agent of American foulbrood, remain infectious for decades in wax, honey and on wood³.

Honey and pollen. Shop-bought honey can contain American foulbrood spores, harmless to people but infectious to larvae. Feeding it to bees, or leaving jars and cappings within reach of the apiary, can infect a healthy colony³.

Captured swarms. A captured swarm is of unknown origin. It carries part of its mother colony’s mites and can carry spores in the honey held in the bees’ crops⁴.

Migratory beekeeping. Moving hives brings them into contact with other apiaries, then brings that contact back home. Large-scale movements of colonies for pollination are described as a driver of pathogen spread⁸.

Drifting and robbing. Drifting is when bees, workers or drones, enter a hive that is not their own. In an experiment comparing a crowded apiary with dispersed colonies, about a third of the drones entering each hive in the crowded apiary came from another colony, against almost none among the dispersed colonies; the crowded colonies built up more mites and survived winter less well⁶. Robbing transmits even more efficiently. When an infested colony collapses, neighbouring colonies, near and further away, rob it and bring back large numbers of mites⁷. For American foulbrood, robbing of colonies killed by the disease transmits spores within a radius of about one kilometre, much less beyond two kilometres⁵.

Buying bees without buying diseases

Choosing the supplier

It is better to buy close to home, from a registered producer who monitors the health of their stock and is willing to talk about it: varroa management, recent foulbrood cases, any restriction zone. On delivery, check that the brood is compact, with no sunken or perforated cells.

Movements between EU countries

Bee movements fall under the Animal Health Law (Regulation (EU) 2016/429) and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688. Bees at any stage may only be sent to another Member State if the colony and hives of origin show no signs of American foulbrood, Aethina tumida or Tropilaelaps. The apiary must lie at the centre of an area of at least 3 km radius with no American foulbrood reported in the 30 days before departure, and of at least 100 km radius free of Aethina tumida and Tropilaelaps⁹.

Consignments travel with an animal health certificate whose model is laid down in Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/403¹⁰. In France, it is issued in the European TRACES system by the official veterinary services. The 2019 technical instruction, which predates these regulations, required a veterinary visit to the apiary of origin in the days before shipment and a certificate issued just before loading¹¹: current arrangements should be checked with the local veterinary authority.

Imports from outside the EU

From third countries, only queens are allowed, under conditions, in cages each holding one queen and no more than 20 attendants. On arrival, they are moved to new cages, and the original cages, attendants and accompanying material are sent to an official laboratory to be checked for small hive beetle and Tropilaelaps¹⁰. See the small hive beetle and Tropilaelaps factsheets.

Quarantine

Every colony bought, every swarm captured and every colony returning from a loan should go through a quarantine apiary, set well apart from the main apiary, long enough to observe at least one full brood cycle, about three weeks. During this period, inspect the brood at every visit, measure varroa on arrival, never swap combs with the rest of the operation, and visit these colonies last, with dedicated tools.

A natural swarm, which has no capped brood when it is hived, can be housed on new foundation: it draws clean comb and uses up the honey it brought with it.

Organising the apiary

Reducing drift

Long rows of identical hives facing the same direction encourage drifting. You reduce it by placing hives in small groups, in an arc or horseshoe, varying entrance directions, spacing hives out, making fronts distinct with colours or patterns, and using natural landmarks. This matters even more for mating nucs, where the queen must find her own entrance.

Numbering and tracing

Every hive carries a unique, durable number, used to record inspections, treatments, requeening and above all comb swaps. Boosting a colony with brood from another is common practice, but it is a direct transfer of pathogens. If foulbrood breaks out, these records let you find the colonies that received combs from the sick one.

Dedicated equipment

Hive tools, brushes and gloves travel from hive to hive and apiary to apiary. One set of tools per apiary, or a hive tool cleaned and flamed between apiaries, limits mechanical transmission. The disinfecting equipment factsheet details the methods.

Preventing robbing

Robbing is triggered mainly during dearth, at the end of a flow and when syrup or honey is handled. To prevent it: reduce entrances on weak colonies and at the end of the season, never leave combs or cappings in the open, keep hives open as briefly as possible, and close up and remove any dead or dying colony immediately. A dead hive left open becomes a source of contamination for the whole neighbourhood, whether the cause is varroa or foulbrood^{5, 7}.

Feeding without contaminating

Feed sugar syrup or products made for bees, never bought honey or honey of unknown origin³. Feed in the evening, all colonies in an apiary at the same time, without spilling syrup. Honey frames from a dead colony are reused only once the cause of death is known: a colony killed by American foulbrood contaminates everything it leaves behind.

Migratory beekeeping

Move only colonies that have been checked and are healthy. At the migratory site, the same rules apply: layout against drifting, suitable entrances, nothing left in the open. On return, a brood inspection and a mite count come before the colonies rejoin the home apiary, since they may have been near heavily infested apiaries.

Legal requirements in France

The rules below apply to France. Many other countries also require registration of beekeepers and apiaries, with their own procedures.

Annual hive declaration

Every keeper of colonies, hobbyist or professional, must declare the number of colonies and their locations each year, between 1 September and 31 December, from the first colony^{2, 12}. The declaration is made online through the Ministry of Agriculture’s Mes Démarches service, with an immediate receipt, or on the Cerfa 13995 form. A new beekeeper starting between January and August can declare to obtain a beekeeper number (NAPI), then must declare again during the mandatory period. The declaration makes it possible to locate colonies and warn the beekeepers concerned when a regulated disease breaks out, Aethina tumida in particular.

The beekeeper number must also be displayed legibly, on some of the hives or on a sign near the apiary¹².

The farm register

Like any keeper of animals whose products are intended for human consumption, the beekeeper keeps a farm register (registre d’élevage), hobbyist or professional. It covers the characteristics of the holding, animal movements, care and treatments, and veterinary interventions. It is kept for at least five years¹².

Regulated diseases

American foulbrood, infestation with Aethina tumida and infestation with Tropilaelaps are subject to regulatory measures. Any suspicion must be reported without delay to the departmental animal health authority (DDPP), which sends a bee health officer¹². In the meantime, close the suspect hive and do not move colonies or equipment.

Who does what in bee health (France)

• State services handle regulated diseases, outbreaks and certification of consignments.
• Veterinarians treat, prescribe and supervise; some are mandated by the prefect for official bee health duties.
• Bee health technicians (TSA), created by the 2014 agriculture law, work under the authority and responsibility of a veterinarian¹³.
• Animal health protection groups (GDS), recognised as health organisations (OVS), often have a beekeeping section. They lead prevention work, especially against varroa, and some run a herd health programme (PSE) that gives members access to medicines under veterinary supervision¹³.

The most common mistakes

• Placing a bought colony in the middle of the apiary, without quarantine.
• Buying second-hand drawn combs without knowing their history.
• Feeding shop-bought honey or leaving empty jars near the apiary.
• Leaving a dead hive open until the next visit.
• Swapping combs without recording it.
• Using the same hive tool on a suspect colony and then on healthy ones.
• Forgetting the annual declaration.

Frequently asked questions

Is a captured swarm a danger to my apiary? Its origin is unknown. Housed in quarantine on new foundation, treated for varroa before its first capped brood and watched for a few weeks, it usually poses no more risk than any other colony.

Do I really need a quarantine apiary for a few hives? A site far enough from the main apiary is enough, even a temporary one. It is often the measure that keeps foulbrood out of the whole operation.

I only have one hive: do I have to declare it? In France, yes. The declaration is mandatory from the first colony, every year between 1 September and 31 December. 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. Rome. fao.org
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
4. Fries I., Camazine S. (2001). Implications of horizontal and vertical pathogen transmission for honey bee epidemiology. Apidologie 32(3): 199-214. doi.org
5. Lindström A., Korpela S., Fries I. (2008). Horizontal transmission of Paenibacillus larvae spores between honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies through robbing. Apidologie 39(5): 515-522. doi.org
6. Seeley T.D., Smith M.L. (2015). Crowding honeybee colonies in apiaries can increase their vulnerability to the deadly ectoparasite Varroa destructor. Apidologie 46(6): 716-727. doi.org
7. Peck D.T., Seeley T.D. (2019). Mite bombs or robber lures? The roles of drifting and robbing in Varroa destructor transmission from collapsing honey bee colonies to their neighbors. PLoS ONE 14(6): e0218392. doi.org
8. Owen R. (2017). Role of human action in the spread of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) pathogens. Journal of Economic Entomology 110(3): 797. doi.org
9. Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688, Article 48: requirements for the movement of honey bees to other Member States. eur-lex.europa.eu
10. European Commission, DG SANTE. Honey bees: movements between Member States and entry into the Union. food.ec.europa.eu
11. French Ministry of Agriculture, DGAL (2019). Technical instruction DGAL/SDSPA/2019-397: certification of bee and bumblebee consignments to other Member States (in French). info.agriculture.gouv.fr
12. DDETSPP Yonne. Beekeeping activities: information for beekeepers (declaration, identification, farm register, regulated diseases), in French. yonne.gouv.fr
13. Giraud F. (2015). Qui seront les acteurs sanitaires apicoles ? (Who will be the bee health actors?). La Santé de l'Abeille 265 (in French). apiservices.biz

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