Colony Register (Bestandsbuch)
Lexikon
The colony register is the record of which medicines a beekeeper has used in his colonies.
The colony register is the record of which medicines a beekeeper has used in his colonies. The legal basis is Article 108 of the European Veterinary Medicinal Products Regulation (EU) 2019/6, which has applied directly since 28 January 2022, supplemented nationally by Section 32 of the German Veterinary Medicinal Products Act. Because bees are used for food production, the obligation applies to every beekeeper, including those with a single colony and even when only over-the-counter products such as formic acid or oxalic acid are used.
The following must be entered: the date of first administration, the name of the medicine, the quantity administered, the name and address of the supplier, the proof of purchase, the identity of the treated animals, that is, the number or designation of the colony, the name of the veterinarian where applicable, the duration of treatment, and the withdrawal period. The withdrawal period must be entered even if it is zero days.
The records and the proofs of purchase, that is, the pharmacy receipt, prescription, or the veterinarian's administration and dispensing record, must be kept for five years and presented to the competent authority on request. Keeping them electronically is permitted as long as the data are readable at all times and cannot be altered. Many veterinary offices and state beekeeping associations publish ready-made forms.
The most common misconception in practice is the assumption that over-the-counter products or a treatment in a hobby apiary need not be documented. That is not correct. Checks are carried out as part of the monitoring of veterinary medicines, which, depending on the federal state, is the responsibility of the veterinary office or a state office. Austria and Switzerland have their own regulations with a comparable aim, but the details differ.
Sources (4)
- Landesamt für Landwirtschaft, Lebensmittelsicherheit und Fischerei Mecklenburg-Vorpommern: Bestandsbuchführung in der Bienenhaltung, Stand August 2025
- Landeshauptstadt Hannover: Bestands- und Behandlungsbuch für Bienenhalter, Vordruck
- LLH Bieneninstitut Kirchhain: Infoblatt Varroazide, Dokumentationspflicht seit der Tierarzneimittelverordnung (EU) 2019/6
- Tierarzneimittelgesetz, Paragraph 32, Buchführung