Importing bees into Scotland: guidance

Queen honey bees and queen bumble bees from countries other than New Zealand must:

Come from a territory in which AFB, Small hive beetle and Tropilaelaps mites are notifiable throughout the whole territory;

Come from a breeding apiary which is supervised and controlled by the competent authority;

Come from an area which is not the subject of any restrictions associated with an occurrence of AFB and where no such occurrence has taken place within at least 30 days prior to the issue of the present certificate. Where an outbreak has occurred previously, all hives within a 3km radius must have been checked by the competent authority and all infected hives burned or treated to the satisfaction of the competent authority within 30 days of the last recorded case;

Come from hives (or colonies in the case of bumble bees) from which samples of the comb have been tested and found negative in the last 30 days for AFB as laid down in the OIE Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines for Terrestrial Animals;

Come from an area of at least 100km radius which is not the subject of any restrictions associated with the occurrence of the Small hive beetle or the Tropilaelaps mite and where these infestations are absent;

Have undergone detailed examinations to ensure that all bees and packaging do not contain Small hive beetle or their eggs or larvae, or other infestations in particular Tropilaelaps mites affecting bees;

Come from hives (or colonies in the case of bumble bees) which were inspected immediately prior to despatch and show no clinical signs or suspicions of disease including infestations affecting bees;

The packing material, queen cages, accompanying products and food are new and have not been in contact with diseased bees or brood combs and all precautions have been taken to prevent contamination with agents causing diseases or infestations of bees.

Bumble bees must:

Have been bred and kept under a controlled environment within a recognised establishment which is supervised and controlled by the competent authority;

Come from an establishment referred to above which was inspected immediately prior to despatch, with all bumble bees and breeding stock showing no clinical signs of suspicion of disease including infestations affecting bees;

Have undergone detailed examination to ensure that all bumble bees, brood-stock and packaging do not contain the Small hive beetle or its eggs and larvae, or other infestations, in particular Tropilaelaps mites affecting bees;

Travel with packing material, containers, accompanying products and food which are new and have not been in contact with diseased bees or brood combs, and where all precautions have been taken to prevent contamination with agents causing diseases or infestations of bees.