In England and Wales there are two notifiable bee pests, the Small hive beetle and the Tropilaelaps mite, and there are two notifiable bee diseases, American and European foulbrood. If you find signs of a notifiable disease or pest in any of your colonies, you must contact your regional bee inspector or the National Bee Unit (NBU) to request a free inspection of your bees. Failure to do so is an offence under the Bee Diseases and Pest Control Order 2006 (as amended), so do not delay. The legislation is quite clear that mere suspicion is enough, so it is better to be safe than sorry, and you will also be protecting your fellow local beekeepers and their bees. The Bee Diseases and Pests Control (England) Order 2006 has also been amended by the Bee Diseases and Pests Control Order 2021 which made Varroa reportable at apiary level. For varroa see here >>Beebase
The links down the left and below are to various articles, documentation and websites dealing with the pests and diseases of the honey bee:-
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Beebase / National Bee Unit
BeeBase is the Animal and Plant Health Agency's (APHA) National Bee Unit website. It is designed for beekeepers and supports Defra, WAG and Scotland's Bee Health Programmes and Plan, which set out to protect and sustain our valuable national bee stocks -
Plant Heath Austrailia - Honey bees
[Plant Heath Australia] The Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) is the peak honey bee industry body that represents the interests of its member state beekeeping organisations and beekeepers from around Australia. -
The British Beekeepers Association
The BBKA was set up in 1874 to promote and further the craft of beekeeping and to advance the education of the public in the importance of bees in the environment. It is the UK's leading organisation representing beekeepers. -
The Scottish Beekeepers Association
The Scottish Beekeepers Association, founded in 1912, is the national beekeeping body for Scotland. We represent our members at national and international level. The association was first registered as a Scottish charity in 1942, and became a Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation (SCIO) on 9 December 2014. -
The Welsh Beekeepers Association (WBKA)
We are the Welsh National Beekeeping Association to which the nineteen local Associations within Wales are affiliated. You could, perhaps, see us as a honey bee, the head being the voice of beekeeping in Wales, the thorax being the hub of information and the abdomen the catalyst for action.
WBA/CGC
