Feed Ring Test (AFB Sampling)
Lexikon
The feed ring is the ring of honey and pollen cells immediately around the brood nest.
The feed ring is the ring of honey and pollen cells immediately around the brood nest. Because the bees store there what they bring into the colony, the spores of the American foulbrood pathogen also collect in this area. A sample taken from it reveals infestation long before anything is visible in the brood pattern.
About a hundred grams of feed per colony or per apiary are taken with a clean wooden spatula, the material goes into a sealable bag, and is sent with an accompanying form to a testing office or a bee institute. The brood is not damaged in the process.
For official purposes, meaning for a health certificate before migration or for testing within a restricted zone, the sample must be taken by the official veterinarian or by a commissioned bee inspector. A self-taken sample is only a self-check and does not replace a certificate.
Anyone who regularly submits samples finds infestation early and can remediate before colonies have to be destroyed and a restricted zone hits the whole neighborhood. In several federal states, the Animal Disease Fund (Germany) covers the testing costs as part of monitoring programs. Anyone planning to migrate should plan sampling early, because weeks pass between sampling, the lab result and the certificate.