Notifiable Diseases and Reporting

Some bee diseases and pests are a problem not for a single apiary but for the whole region; this is why reporting them is a legal requirement. If you suspect American or European foulbrood, small hive beetle or Tropilaelaps mites, your first job is not treatment but to isolate the hive and notify the official veterinary service / local agriculture authority. Do not use any medicine on your own, especially antibiotics.

Which diseases?

The main bee diseases and pests on the list of notifiable diseases in Türkiye are:

• American foulbrood (Paenibacillus larvae): Its spores remain viable in comb, honey and equipment for decades.
• European foulbrood (Melissococcus plutonius): Kills open larvae; can spread rapidly in stressed colonies.
• Small hive beetle (Aethina tumida): An invasive beetle whose larvae make comb and honey rot.
• Tropilaelaps mites: Brood mites of Asian origin that multiply faster than varroa.

The list is updated from time to time; check the current version with the official veterinary service / local agriculture authority. The World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) list additionally includes varroa and the tracheal mite; in countries where these mites are widespread, separate reporting of each case may not be expected. Some European countries have also made the yellow-legged Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) notifiable.

Why is reporting necessary?

What these agents have in common is that they do not stay confined to a single colony. They spread through the region via robbing, swarms, colonies that are sold or moved, and comb, honey and equipment that change hands.

American foulbrood is a good example: antibiotics can suppress the symptoms for a while, but they do not destroy the spores. A hive that is quietly “treated” conceals the disease; meanwhile, colonies that are sold and honey that is robbed carry the agent to neighbouring apiaries.

What should you look out for?

American foulbrood

• A scattered (pepper-pot) brood pattern.
• Darkened, greasy-looking, sunken and perforated cappings.
• Death occurs in the capped stage; the remains in the cell turn into a brown, sticky mass.
• Matchstick test: When a matchstick is pushed into the remains in the cell and slowly pulled out, a brown thread stretching 1–3 cm forms.
• In the advanced stage, dark scales remain stuck firmly to the lower wall of the cell and are not easily removed.

European foulbrood

• Death mostly occurs at the open larval stage; the larva loses its coiled shape in the cell and slumps sideways or upwards.
• The larva loses its pearly white colour and turns yellowish-brown, looking “melted”; sometimes its white gut can be seen through the skin.
• There may be a sour smell. The ropiness test is usually negative or gives a short, lumpy stretch.

Small hive beetle

• The adult beetle is about 5–7 mm long, dark brown to black, with club-tipped antennae; it avoids light and hides in corners.
• The larvae have rows of small spines along the back and three pairs of legs at the head end. The wax moth larva does not have these rows of spines.
• In heavy infestations the combs become slimy, the honey ferments and can run out of the hive.

Tropilaelaps mite

• It is noticeably smaller than varroa and longer than it is wide; varroa, by contrast, is broad and crab-shaped.
• It runs fast on the comb surface. In heavy infestations scattered brood, perforated cappings and deformed bees are seen; these symptoms closely resemble varroa.
• If, when opening drone brood or on the floor board, you see an elongated, fast-moving mite that does not look like varroa, take a sample and report it.

What to do if you suspect it

1. Close the hive and leave it where it is. Do not give comb, frames, honey or bees to another colony; do not lend out equipment.
2. Prevent robbing. Reduce the entrance; close the hive of a dead or very weak colony so that bees cannot get in; do not leave honey, comb or syrup in the open.
3. Document it. Take photos that clearly show the symptoms; note the date and hive number.
4. Report it. Notify the official veterinary service / local agriculture authority or an official veterinarian. Inform your beekeepers' association as well.
5. Do not start treatment on your own. Antibiotics and similar treatments suppress the symptoms, do not destroy the agent, make diagnosis more difficult and leave residues in honey.
6. Stop colony movements. Until the diagnosis is clear, do not sell, move, split or unite colonies.
7. Hygiene. Inspect this hive last; do not touch another hive without cleaning your gloves and tools.

What happens in the official procedure?

The official team inspects the hives, takes samples if necessary and decides on measures based on the laboratory result. Depending on the disease, these measures may include destruction of diseased colonies and combs (usually by burning), disinfection of hives and equipment, screening of apiaries in the surrounding area, and restrictions on movement for a certain period at apiary or regional level.

The value of keeping records

After a report, the first thing asked about is colony movements: where did you get them, where did you take them, to whom did you sell, from whom did you get comb or equipment? Without this information the source cannot be found and the scope of the measures is made wider than necessary.

• Keep your details and apiary sites in the Beekeeping Registration System (AKS, in Türkiye) up to date.
• A simple notebook is enough: date, hive number, action taken (sale, purchase, move, split, medicine treatment) and the other party.
• For queens, package bees and colonies you buy, keep the seller's details and the health certificates.

How reporting benefits the beekeeper

To most beekeepers reporting seems like a burden. In fact, early reporting usually results in narrower measures; when a concealed disease comes to light after it has grown, the measures become tougher and the losses greater. Warning neighbouring beekeepers in good time also prevents reinfection of your own apiary. Where official support or compensation is available, it too usually depends on a report made according to the proper procedure.

Prevention

• Do not buy used hives, comb or equipment from unknown sources.
• Do not feed bees honey of unknown origin or feed containing honey; American foulbrood spores are carried in honey.
• Keep new colonies and caught swarms separate for a while and check their brood.
• Look carefully at the brood pattern at every inspection; when you see scattered brood and sunken cappings, investigate the cause.
• Replace old, darkened combs regularly.