Positive Identification of Disease
If disease is proven to be prevalent amongst the colony, the Bee Inspector will advise on the best course of action to take, this can vary dependent on the type of disease from antibiotics, to the full destruction of a colony, the hive frames within the hive and the complete sanitising of the hive components and associated tools and equipment.
The latter action can of course be totally devastating to the beekeeper, from a financial aspect, as he or she will have undoubtedly, over time spent a great deal of time and money on the colony and secondly, emotionally, this can be very upsetting, because the beekeeper may well then start to doubt their own ability to keep bees
Bee Diseases and the Importance of Bee Base Registration and BBKA Membership
Article Written By Debbie Hillman
In light of the recent media attention in relation to the serious losses that the honey bee population has suffered over the last decade, the craft of beekeeping has grown in popularity. Now, more and more people have started keeping bees in their back gardens, allotments and out apiaries, but has this really helped the bee population, or has it brought about more problems by way of the unintentional and unconscious spreading of bee diseases amongst bee colonies?
The spreading of disease amongst bee colonies can be instigated in a number of ways; - through the ignorance of the bee keeper, the contamination of equipment and tools, or by the robbing activities of foraging bees. Let us take a look at this in more detail.
Good Husbandry is Essential
Any conscientious beekeeper will take care with his or her husbandry; in terms of the thorough cleaning of tools after each hive visit, or the manipulation of others colonies, including the wash or change of gloves and protective clothing after visiting another beekeepers apiary. A knowledgeable beekeeper will never be tempted to feed his bees honey from any unknown source, as this can spread disease, nor will a knowledgeable beekeeper put his or others colonies at risk by leaving out unwashed honey jars, or old frames.
If the beekeeper is a member of the British Beekeeping Association (BBKA), then the Beekeeper will be automatically insured for any losses caused through the order of a destruction of a colony. In this instance, the Bee Inspector will issue the owner of the infected colonies a document which orders the destruction of the colony.
Claiming for Insured Losses
The Beekeeper will then be able to put in a claim for the insured losses. Obviously, any uninsured Beekeepers will not be able to make a claim, hence the importance of being a BBKA member and ensuring that the membership fees are paid on time and are up to date!
However, on a positive note, the visit from the Bee Inspector can also be very reassuring to the beekeeper, as the Inspector will be on hand to answer any questions posed by the Beekeeper and be in a position to give first hand, expert advice on successful colony management and disease prevention for the future.
American and European Foul Brood Diseases on the Rise
Bees as natural foragers can also be their own worst enemies when it comes to robbing honey from the cells of both feral and managed colonies. Diseases such as American and European Foul Brood, have over the years started to make a resurgence, as these will lie within the cells of an infected colony and an unsuspecting bee will waste no time in licking and cleaning the insides of the cell, taking the infection back to quickly contaminate its own colony.
These diseases are very well adept at remaining undetected; as they can lay dormant in a colony for many years and not re-surface until the colony suffers a stress for example, this can even be brought about by way of the colony becoming Queen-less.
What to do when a Colony Dies
If a colony dies out, a responsible bee keeper will firstly seal up the hive to prevent robbing by other colonies from taking place. The beekeeper will then want to know the exact reason (if it is not obvious through starvation etc.) as to why the colony has died and will seek the advice of a suitably qualified bee keeper. The National Bee Unit has a number of Bee Inspectors who are each allocated a wide area of the country and who, once contacted will be only too happy to assist.
The importance of Registering Apiaries on Bee Base
Once a colony disease has been diagnosed and all other hives at the apiary have been checked, the Bee Inspector has a duty to report his findings to the National Bee Unit. The Bee Unit will automatically send an email alert out to any registered beekeepers that have an apiary, or hive within a 3-kilometre radius of the location of the outbreak. The 3-kilometre radius is very important, as this is a normal distance that a bee will forage away from its colony. If a further outbreak is found by the Bee Inspector within the 3-kilometer radius, then the radius will be expanded to 5-kilometres of the location of the diseased colony.
The Bee Inspector will then set a future date to re-visit the bees after approximately 6-weeks. This timescale gives the opportunity for any missed symptoms of the disease to show.
Any beekeeper who has not registered his bee colonies kept either at his own address, or at an out apiary location, on ‘Bee Base’ the National Bee Unit database will not be alerted to the threat of disease and because of this, the incidents of disease outbreaks in the UK are spreading. Both American and European Foul Brood Disease (and some exotic pests which are not in this country at present) are notifiable by law, whether you are registered on Bee Base or not.
A Visit from the Bee Inspector
A visit from the Bee Inspector is certainly not as formal or intimidating as it sounds! The Bee Inspectors will during their working day, inspect the hives of both the amateur and the well-practised bee keeper and as such, they are compelled to act completely confidentially and non-judgmentally.
The Bee Inspectors main concern is for the best welfare of the bees and their objective is to manage and prevent any disease from spreading across the country.
How to Register on Bee Base
If you keep bees either at your home and or at an out apiary and you have not registered on Bee Base, please do this now to help keep bee colony diseases in this country under control. The database is confidential and it is free to register, no matter how many colonies one has. The whole process can quickly be done on line in the comfort of your arm chair!
The link to bee base is https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/public/register.cfm
Hopefully, if we can pass this information on to anyone that we know who keeps bees and if everyone then registers, we can over time eradicate disease and only then really begin to help conserve the bee population!
Bee Inspectors are extremely approachable, helpful and knowledgeable when it comes to all aspects of the managing of bee colonies and are able to spot and then identify any type of symptom associated with disease. The Bee Inspector will be equipped with a number of specially designed laboratory tests, which can easily be carried out whilst in the apiary and the test result will be given during their visit.
More information in relation to Bee Diseases, signs, symptoms and how to recognise them can be found on the FERA website link https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/
