APIS Volume 10, Number 1, January 1992
In this issue
- Florida Technical Council--Certification and Registration
- Honey Bee Certification Plan--The St. Louis Meeting
- Comments on the Model Certification Plan
DELIBERATIONS OF THE FLORIDA HONEY BEE TECHNICAL COUNCIL
The Florida Honey Bee Technical Council, which advises Agriculture Commissioner Crawford on issues relating to the beekeeping industry, met December 19. Deliberations of this body resulted in several recommendations. One had to do with the meeting in St. Louis that hammered out a model state certification plan (see subsequent articles). The Council unanimously approved a resolution stating that it concurred with the concept of certification and asked the Commissioner's representatives to develop a strategy for implementing and funding a program based on the document developed in St. Louis.
A split vote in the council resulted in concurring with beekeeper registration fees as proposed (published in the October, 1991 APIS) by the Division of Plant Industry. This was in spite of rejection of the idea by the Florida State Beekeepers Association at its annual meeting in early November. A major force driving the decision was the real possibility that the program would be lost, if it were not partially self funded. The registration fees are expected to fund only about 20 percent of the Apiary bureau's operating budget.
A final recommendation sent to the Commissioner was to accept the use of one new Apistan (R) strip to certify movement of Varroa-infested colonies, instead of two. This was based on data from the University of Florida; it was emphasized that the information is preliminary only, and does not purport to replace standard advice concerning treatment of colonies using two strips. The Apiary bureau will monitor the procedure to determine how effective it is in Varroa control. All the above recommendations were subsequently taken under consideration by the Commissioner. They have now been accepted and the Apiary Bureau is implementing them.
Another point of business at the Council meeting was application for emergency (Section 18) registration of Amitraz for tracheal mite control. At this point, there is not enough information available to Mr. Cutts concerning actual damage done by tracheal mites in Florida beehives for the application to go forward. He is circulating a questionnaire on the issue to all registered beekeepers in the state. If you don't receive one, please contact Mr. Cutts, Division of Plant Industry, Apiary Bureau, 904/372-3505, Ext. 128 or your local bee inspector.
MODEL HONEY BEE CERTIFICATION PLAN
The document developed at the St. Louis Certification workshop is being published in the bee journals and elsewhere. The industry owes a debt of gratitude to Drs. H. Shimanuki, Agricultural Research Service, and A. Dietz, USDA/APHIS, for initially drafting the document that was subsequently modified from ideas generated at the workshop. I am paraphrasing it here:
Introduction - Contains rationalizations for regulations to "protect the honey bee industry."
African Honey Bees - Recommends doing everything possible to "retard the spread" and "foster the hybridization process." Research suggests that drone saturation will keep mismatings to below 10% in areas where Africanized wild colonies exist. Implementation of this part requires participation of the entire beekeeping industry, but through "self-help, rather than a rigid regulatory protocol." Quarantines will be "imposed in areas invaded by Africanized bee swarms." State apiary programs would be responsible for delimiting surveys and monitoring movement along with disease inspection. USDA/APHIS would "provide technical assistance to states that are developing Africanized bee monitoring programs."
The term "quarantine" should not be construed as "no bee movement," but translated as "orderly bee movement." In other parts of the document, this word has been replaced where possible by "regulated area." When an area becomes "Africanized," and declared "regulated," all managed colonies will be allowed to move out for a period of three months without colonies needing to be certified as European. Beekeepers staying after that period who might wish to move out in the future, should mark or clip all queens or face additional criteria for European certification as noted below. Those who wish to remain in the regulated area can do so indefinitely without restrictions.
CERTIFICATION PROCEDURES FOR EUROPEAN HONEY BEES - Colonies without clipped or marked queens in regulated areas will be permitted to move from a regulated zone to a non- regulated zone if requeened with (1) certified breeder queens; (2) queens produced from certified breeder queens (to be called certified production queens); or (3) certified queen cells. Colonies may also be certified to move using the current USDA identification method known as FABIS or USDA- ID.
A certified breeder queen is one in which the progeny can be certified as European by: a) Fast Africanized Bee Identification System (FABIS); b) Official Universal System for the Detection of Africanized honey bees (USDA-ID); and c) any other APHIS-approved identification technique. Queens produced and mated in areas free of Africanized honey bees will not require certification. All certified breeder queens must be clipped and marked. These queens can be used to produce other certified breeder queens or droneproducing colonies.
A certified production queen is one produced from larvae of a certified breeder queen. Certified production queens cannot be used to produce other certified production queens, but can be used as drone-producing colonies.
A certified queen cell is any containing a larva from a certified breeder queen. The resulting queen emerging from a certified production cell is a certified production queen.
Several categories of beekeepers affected by certification were discussed in St. Louis. Each is treated somewhat differently:
Intrastate Beekeepers - Except where special regulations may require, beekeepers remaining inside one particular state will not need certification if located in non- regulated areas and not moving to regulated areas in the same state. Those in regulated areas also need not be certified unless providing queens, package bees, brood, nucleus or full-sized colonies, and/or drone semen to beekeepers in non-regulated areas.
Interstate (Migratory) Beekeepers - Except where special regulations may require, beekeepers migrating across state lines in non-regulated areas will not require certification. Those in regulated areas must requeen or make splits using certified queens or cells.
Queen and Package Bee Producers - Except where special regulations may require, queen and package bee producers will not require certification in non-regulated areas. Those in regulated areas must use certified breeder queens for cell and queen production and requeen or make splits using certified queens or cells. It is strongly recommended that all certified production queens be marked and clipped for ready identification.
Producers of Certified Breeder Queens - Certified breeder queens are to be certified by state regulatory agencies using FABIS or USDA-ID. Other methods of certification must be approved by USDA/APHIS. Certification is based on emerging worker progeny or examination of worker bees collected at the entrance at least six weeks after successful queen introduction. Certified breeder queens must be marked and clipped to be readily identified by bee inspectors and other regulatory officials.
Mating Yard Procedures - A minimum of 60 European drone-source colonies must be established for each 1,000 or fewer mating nuclei. All such drone-source colonies should be located within 1/4 mile radius of the mating yard. No drones may be introduced into colonies and mating nuclei unless originating from certified breeder queens or certified production queens. Producers of either certified breeder or production queens must requeen drone-producing colonies annually.
Swarms - The practice of catching swarms and using them in beekeeping operations is no longer justifiable in regulated areas. All swarms captured in regulated areas must be destroyed.
Abandoned Apiaries - All abandoned apiaries located within two miles of queen rearing yards must be destroyed.
Semen Certification - Drone semen from regulated areas can be certified by progeny tests of worker bees. No certification will be required for semen obtained from non-regulated areas.
The above pertains to the African honey bee, however, the document also deals with other issues. These are the requirements for disease certification:
Brood Diseases - Present state procedures will remain in effect and are considered adequate for intrastate beekeepers. Requirements for interstate beekeepers are that no bees be refused entry because of presence of American foulbrood. However, beekeepers exceeding 3% levels of American foulbrood infestation for two consecutive years will not be issued permits to move. No certification of European foulbrood or chalkbrood is required.
Other Diseases - No changes are proposed and present state procedures will remain in effect.
Tracheal Mite - Tracheal mites are to be deregulated.
Varroa Mite - For interstate beekeepers, no individual colony examination for Varroa will be required for entry. Instead, certification will be based on: (a) proof of purchase of sufficient EPA registered material to treat the number of colonies to be moved; (b) treatment must have been completed within the last 45 days before initial shipment date; or (c) treatment is present in colonies at time of entry. Return shipments do not require retreatment.
For interstate queen or package bee shippers, no inspection is required for source colonies of package bees and queens, however, in states where Varroa is established, all source colonies of queens, package bees and mating nuclei should be treated according to state regulations with EPA registered materials. In addition, shippers must indicate on cages the exact date of treatment initiation and those receiving package bees or queens should not install them until the treatment time has passed.
Two final areas covered in the document concern cooperative agreements and information collection. The model plan encourages states to cooperate with each other to promote the orderly movement of bee colonies. It also urges collection of data on honey bee diseases, mites and range expansion of the Africanized honey bee. Those interested in seeing the full plan, can get a copy by writing to me.
COMMENTS ON THE MODEL PLAN
Only time will tell how effectively this model plan will be implemented. The workshop organizers are hoping that many state legislatures meeting this spring will enact its provisions into local statutes. One problem is the amount of interaction/cooperation there will be between federal and state regulatory agencies as the bee occupies more territory. Many at the workshop believed that the concept would work much better if there were strong leadership at the federal level. However, the document only gives USDA/APHIS a role in providing training and technical assistance. Perhaps more important, the published plan provides no guidelines on how implementation is to be funded by states, most beset by significant budgetary problems.
Although based on current "best" information, there also continue to be questions about the plan's specifics. Dr. Eric Mussen in his November/December issue of From the U.C. Apiaries included some editorial remarks in his analysis:
- Virgin European queens mating in areas where there are AHB colonies only need mate with 20-30% Africanized drones before becoming defensive.
- There is no need to restrict identification of Africanization to any specific method.
- Sixty European drone source colonies per 1,000 mating nuclei are not enough and no mention is made of using drone foundation.
- Semen certification does not seem to concern itself enough with the question of drift.
- Varroa treatment at any other time than when brood is at its lowest level may not be effective and chemical treatment before mites are shown to be present should not be condoned.
Nevertheless, in spite of his reservations, Dr. Mussen concluded: "...much of the plan will make sense and state programs will become similar to it."
The plan as published also seems to indicate that we know more about Africanized honey bees than we really do. This is well described in Africanized Honey Bee Conference Report, published November, 1991 and compiled by James Bach, President of the Apiary Inspectors of America and Dr. Eric Mussen, President of the American Association of Professional Apiculturists. Sixty-two questions about Africanized bees were put to reigning experts and followed up with a meeting of 44 persons "...known to have conducted studies..." on the insect.
Broad categories in the questionnaire included: identification methods and economics; detection, surveys and trapping; designation of areas as Africanized; utilization of bait stations; determination of temperament and behavior; general management strategy in Latin America and colony size. There were no answers, or insufficient information, on a distressing number of specific questions in this report that relate directly to implementing any certification plan. For a full copy, send a check for $3.50 payable to Department of Entomology/Nematology. The report is due to be published sometime soon in the journals.
Malcolm T. Sanford
Bldg 970, Box 110620
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-0620
Phone (904) 392-1801, Ext. 143 FAX: 904-392-0190
http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~entweb/apis/apis.htm
INTERNET Address: MTS@GNV.IFAS.UFL.EDU
©1992 M.T. Sanford "All Rights Reserved
