Risk Management and Backup

Risk management in beekeeping means recognising ordinary risks such as winter loss, disease, poisoning, theft, natural disasters and a bad season in advance, limiting their impact and keeping back-ups ready to absorb losses. In beekeeping, loss is not an exception but something to be expected. The aim is not to eliminate losses but to make sure the operation stays on its feet when they happen.

What are the main risks in beekeeping?

Back-ups: being in a position to absorb losses

Back-up colonies

Keeping enough nucs (small back-up colonies) in the apiary to cover the expected losses is the most basic precaution. That way you make up winter losses without buying in colonies, and the risk of bringing in disease from outside disappears too. Set the number of back-ups according to the loss rate of previous years.

Spare queens

Keeping laying spare queens in nucs stops the loss of a queen from turning into a crisis. A laying queen is more reliable than one kept waiting in a cage (banking).

Spare equipment

Keep a spare veil, smoker, hive tool and one or two empty hives in the vehicle. An inspection left half-done because of a broken tool, or having no box to put a swarm in, are small but frequent losses.

Reserve stores

Feeding supplies and honey left in the hive protect colonies against unexpected dearths such as drought or a bad spring.

Spreading the risk: one apiary or several?

Keeping all colonies in one apiary concentrates all the risks in one place. Having more than one apiary:

• Prevents a local spraying, flood or theft from affecting them all at once,
• Spreads the risk of forage failure; while there is drought in one place, the flow may continue in another,
• Limits the spread of disease.

On the other hand, it increases travel time and costs. The balance is to set up apiaries at a reasonable distance from each other but in different risk areas.

Biosecurity: the cheapest risk precaution

The risk of disease falls greatly with the cheapest precautions there are:

• Don't buy colonies, comb or honey from unknown sources; second-hand comb in particular can carry disease.
• Monitor new colonies separately: Observe them in a separate location for a while before adding them to the apiary.
• Clean your tools: Clean your hive tool and gloves, especially between suspect hives.
• Don't move comb around at random: Record comb transfers between hives.
• Prevent robbing: Don't leave honey or comb out in the open; reduce the entrances of weak colonies.
• Record colony movements: In an outbreak this makes it possible to trace the source.

With notifiable diseases such as American and European foulbrood, do not attempt treatment on your own: isolate the hive, stop moving frames and tools, and notify the official veterinary service / local agriculture authority. Any necessary destruction and cleaning is done under official direction.

What should you do if you suspect poisoning?

1. Document it: Photograph the dead and trembling bees in front of the hive; note the date, time and location.
2. Take samples: Collect freshly dead bees in a clean container and keep them cool (freeze them if possible).
3. Report it: Pass the matter on to the official veterinary service / local agriculture authority without delay; inform your union.
4. Observe the surroundings: Note the nearby field that was sprayed, the crop and the time.

As a precaution, getting to know the farmers around you, finding out when they spray and letting them know where your apiary is markedly reduces the risk of poisoning.

Records, documents and insurance

In the event of damage, compensation, insurance or official support often depend on documentation:

• Keep your apiary's official registration up to date (in Türkiye, the Beekeeping Registration System, AKS),
• Write down the number of colonies and any changes to apiaries,
• Number and mark your hives; in a theft this is proof of identity,
• When you suffer damage, record photos, the date and witness details straight away.

In Türkiye, state-subsidised beekeeping (hive-with-bees) insurance is offered within the TARSİM system. Which risks are covered and which conditions apply (e.g. hives must be registered and meet standards) are set out in the general conditions published each year; read the current conditions before taking out a policy.

Annual risk checklist

• What was last year's loss rate, and is the number of back-up nucs enough to cover it?
• Are the apiary sites safe from flooding, fire and theft?
• Are the hives numbered, registered and, if necessary, insured?
• Is the varroa measurement and treatment schedule ready?
• Have you made contact with the farmers around you?
• Who will look after the colonies if you fall ill?