Migratory Beekeeping
Lexikon
Migratory beekeeping refers to moving entire bee colonies to another site, usually to make use of a particular nectar flow such as rapeseed, forest or lime blossom, or to provide pollination for fruit and specialty crops.
Migratory beekeeping refers to moving entire bee colonies to another site, usually to make use of a particular nectar flow such as rapeseed, forest or lime blossom, or to provide pollination for fruit and specialty crops. For this the colonies are transported in closed or well-ventilated hives, preferably during the cool morning or evening hours or at night, so that the bees remain calm.
Anyone migrating with bees in Germany must observe the requirements of the Bee Disease Ordinance. Under Section 5 of the ordinance, a colony may only be moved to a new site outside the previous district if an official veterinary health certificate is available confirming freedom from American foulbrood and proving that the place of origin is not in a restricted zone. This certificate must not be issued before September 1 of the previous year and must be no older than nine months. After arriving at the new site, the beekeeper must report this to the responsible authority without delay and present the valid health certificate.
In addition, Section 5a of the Bee Disease Ordinance requires that a clearly visible, permanent sign with name, address and number of colonies set up be attached at the migratory site. The beekeeper is also obliged to permit checks by the official veterinarian required under disease control law. These rules serve above all to contain the spread of notifiable American foulbrood through migration, since diseases could otherwise spread quickly over long distances through the moving of colonies.