The Beekeepers Club Inc.

Bee Health - Diseases, Pests & Parasites

What might come as a surprise to the new hobby beekeeper is the fact that bees are being threatened by diseases, pests and parasites. All experienced beekeepers are fully aware of it and know that constant monitoring of their hives for health issues is a vital element of beekeeping. It is important to recognise what is troubling the bees to be able to take measures against it and to avoid spreading of diseases to other hives.

Diseases of the honey bee - a link to Wikipedia

Diseases of the honey bee - a link to beekeeping wikia

As bee health is important we have dedicated this page explicitly to this topic. The Victorian Department of Primary Industries has issued a number of Ag Notes to assist the beekeeper.

DPI Assistance
As a beekeeper you are not alone when it comes to fighting bee diseases. The Victorian Department of Primary Industries provides assistance to beekeepers. The first step is to recognise what the problem is and as part of this process you might have to send in a sample for diagnosis.

AG0990 A Guide to the Field Diagnosis of Honey Bee Brood Diseases - assists in field diagnosis of brood diseases (pdf)

AG1076 - Field Diagnosis of Exotic Honey Bee Parasites and Pests in Beehives - assists in field diagnosis of pests and parasites (pdf)

AG1249 - Samples for laboratory diagnosis of bee diseases - explains how to prepare samples for the laboratory (pdf).


Diseases that must be notified
To prevent diseases from spreading certain diseases and problems need to be notified. The objective by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries is not to "punish" beekeepers, but to provide assistance to beekeepers.

Which diseases of bees must be notified? - A publication by the Victorian DPI

AG0763 - Which diseases of bees must be notified? - pdf document





Chalkbrood Disease
AG0990 A Guide to the Field Diagnosis of Honey Bee Brood Diseases - assists in field diagnosis of brood diseases (pdf)

Chalkbrood - publication from the DPI in Queensland



Sacbrood Disease
AG0990 A Guide to the Field Diagnosis of Honey Bee Brood Diseases - assists in field diagnosis of brood diseases (pdf)

Sacbrood - publication from the DPI in Queensland



European Foulbrood Disease (EFB)
AG0990 A Guide to the Field Diagnosis of Honey Bee Brood Diseases - assists in field diagnosis of brood diseases (pdf)

European Foulbrood - publication from the DPI in Queensland



American Foulbrood Disease (AFB)
AG0990 A Guide to the Field Diagnosis of Honey Bee Brood Diseases - assists in field diagnosis of brood diseases (pdf)

AG1145 - AFB Smart - Helping to Detect American Foulbrood - A paper (pdf) by the DPI describing the American Foul Brood problem.

American Foulbrood - publication from the DPI in Queensland



Wax Moth
AG1101 - Wax Moth - A Pest of Combs and Honey Bee Products - A paper (pdf) by the DPI describing the wax moth problem.



Nosema Disease (Nosema apis)
AG0300 - Nosema Disease in Honeybees - A paper (pdf) by the DPI describing the nosema disease.



Small Hive Beetle (Athena tumida)
AG1080 - Small Hive Beetle - A Beekeeping Pest - A paper (pdf) by the DPI describing the Hive Beetle problem.

Small Hive Beetle - publication from the DPI in Queensland



Varroa Mite (Varroa destructor and Varroa jacobsoni) (not present in Australia yet)
AG1183 - Varroa - An Exotic Parasitic Mite of Honey Bees - A paper (pdf) by the DPI describing the varroa problem.

Asian honey bees and varroa mite - publication from the DPI in Queensland

Mite pests of honey bees in the Asia-Pacific region - ACIAR Books online (July 2007)

Dr. Denis Anderson (CSIRO) from Australia is one of the world's leading scientists, researching biological threats to honeybees and in particular the varroa mite. The CSIRO has has also published some great bee photos from Dr. Anderson.



Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)
As if Varroa, AFB and Hive Beetle would not cause enough trouble for bees and beekeepers. What has been disturbing Apiarists around the world for the last two years is the sudden disappearance of bees in large numbers. Research has gone into this phenomena and to date there is not yet a conclusion what exactly causes this disappearance of the bees. Various articles and publications might help understand what is going on.

Solution to Colony Collapse Disorder: http://www.theccdsolution.com

News on Colony Collapse Disorder - web page with the latest news on CCD

Bee Colony Collapse Disorder - Where is it Heading? - a Celsias publication

Questions and Answers: Colony Collapse Disorder - by USDA Agricultural Research Service

New Clues in the Mass Death of Bees - article by Time magazine




Useful Links for Information regarding Bee Health

Pests and diseases of honeybees - comprehensive & resourceful library of on-line information by the NSW Department of Primary Industries.

Bee Poisoning

It is spring time, fruit trees are in full blossom and the bees must have a good time. On a nice sunny day you go to watch them bringing in pollen and nectar. But what is this? Large numbers of dead bees in front of your hive? What is going on? You've never seen that before; sure there has been the occasional dead bee in front of your hive, but nothing like this - hands full of dead bees.

The most likely reason - poisoning by pesticides - you probably have an orchard within a distance of up to 3km.

Bees, on the search for pollen and nectar find the fruit trees in blossom in the orchards nearby.

Unfortunately, more and more powerful "weapons of mass destruction" (pesticides) are getting on the market, in particular neonicotinoids, which are deadly to your bees.

From our most recent experience there is a 30% to 75% likelihood that bees get poisoned during pollination.
And according to our observations the trend is upwards!

Advice: When you discover large numbers of dead bees in front of your hive during spring, i.e. fruit tree blossom time, relocate your bees away from orchards.

Later on, when the fruit trees are no longer in bloom, you can bring your hives back - the bees have no reason to forage in the orchard.