Bee health
Honeybees and wild bees, such as bumblebees and solitary bees, play a vital role in ecosystems and, together with other pollinating insects, are indispensable for the pollination of flowering plants. In doing so, they make a vital contribution to the biodiversity of flora and fauna and to food security. Only a healthy, intact bee colony can fulfil these tasks. Our aim is to ensure the long-term sustainability of the honeybee population in Austria. Unlike other farm animals, honeybees are free-flying and independently select their food from the natural resources available in their surroundings. As a result, honeybees and their health are in constant interaction with the environment and human use of it (e.g. farming practices, the use of plant protection products and biocides, and the design of gardens and green spaces). Climate change and the globalised economy pose further challenges for bees and beekeeping, as they alter habitats and living conditions and pave the way for the global spread of pathogens, parasites and pests that threaten bees.
When it comes to bee and colony losses, scientists agree that these are influenced by many factors. Among other things, the bees’ habitat, their interaction with agriculture, beekeeping, the occurrence of pathogens and appropriate disease control all play a role.
Our Department of Apiculture and Bee Conservation is happy to answer any questions you may have regarding bee health and conservation, as well as other apicultural matters.
Bee diseases
Various bee diseases and pests can become a problem for bee colonies and cause them significant harm. Early detection and accurate diagnosis of bee diseases are therefore crucial. In our pathogen database, you will find comprehensive information on the various pathogens and pests affecting honey bees. Here, you can filter by the species ‘bee’.
You can find an overview of the diagnosis of various bee diseases and pests on our Bee Diseases Diagnosis Guide page.
The reporting obligation under EU Animal Health Law Regulation (EU) 2016/429 (AHL) and Delegated Regulation 2018/1629 applies to:
- American foulbrood
- Infestation with Varroa spp. (varroasis)
- Infestation with Aethina tumida (small hive beetle)
- Infestation with Tropilaelaps spp.
On 1 July 2024, the Animal Health Act 2024 (BGBl. No. 53/2024) (TGG) came into force with the 2024 Amendment to Veterinary Law. This replaces the Bee Diseases Act. The fourth section of the Animal Health Act contains the ‘Special Provisions for Bees’, specifically in Sections 49 to 56. Some provisions on bee health, which were previously regulated in the Bee Diseases Act, have been incorporated verbatim. However, there are also changes compared to the Bee Diseases Act, such as the explicit mention in Section 50 of specialist veterinarians as being ‘specially trained within the meaning of Section 5(1)’. The obligation to report the Varroa mite is restricted in Section 3(2)(11) to ‘epidemic occurrence’, and further reporting obligations in the event of ‘epidemic occurrence’ are no longer specified. The “epidemic occurrence” of infestation with Varroa spp. (varroasis) is defined as the point in time at which the death of at least 30% of the colonies in an apiary is imminent or has occurred (Official Veterinary Gazette 2024 - 6.2 of 1 July 2024, Section 1). The term ‘bee expert’ no longer exists in the law. In the Official Veterinary Gazette 2024 - 12b of 19 December 2024, §1(8) stipulates that the investigation of suspected bee diseases may be carried out by authorised persons in accordance with §7(1) of the TGG.
The AHDS disease map shows the current animal disease zones on a map of Austria. The current restricted zones for American foulbrood can also be found here.
American foulbrood
American foulbrood is a serious disease of the honey bee that leads to the death of the brood. It is caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae and is transmitted by the highly infectious dormant forms (spores) of the bacterium. Due to the high infectivity and severity of the disease, it is a notifiable disease throughout the EU. Any suspected case of this disease must be reported. In the event of an outbreak of American foulbrood, all apiaries within a 3 km radius are inspected, and control measures must be carried out at apiaries with affected colonies to eliminate the pathogen.
Further information on this can be found in our pathogen database. There is no risk whatsoever to humans – neither when handling the colonies nor when consuming bee products such as honey. To prevent an outbreak of the disease, hygiene measures and tests for the early detection of any spore contamination in materials from the bee colony are particularly important (e.g. comb sample).
Interlaboratory tests for the screening of AFB
The National Reference Laboratory for Bee Health (NRL) at the Department of Apiculture and Bee Protection at AGES has been conducting interlaboratory tests to detect the pathogen causing American foulbrood since 2022. Since 2024, a laboratory must be able to demonstrate that it participated successfully in the previous interlaboratory comparison test in order for the tests to be submitted for funding as ‘microbiological laboratory tests for the screening of AFB (Package 13 of the Special Guideline on Beekeeping Support 2023–2027)’ for funding.
List of laboratories that participated successfully in 2026:
These laboratories are authorised to carry out microbiological laboratory tests for the screening of American Foulbrood in accordance with the Special Guidelines on Beekeeping Funding for the 2026–27 funding period.
- LVBK Bienenzucht GmbH, Carinthian Regional Beekeeping Association
- Laboratory for Bee Products and Bee Health, Upper Austrian Regional Beekeeping Association
- Laboratory for Bee Products and Bee Health Salzburg, Salzburg Provincial Association for Beekeeping and Apiculture
- Laboratory of the Styrian Beekeeping Centre, Styrian Provincial Beekeeping Association
- National Reference Laboratory for Bee Health, Department of Apiculture and Bee Protection, AGES
- Association for the Promotion of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnostics (VFL), Lower Austria TGD
- Institute for Bee Research, Dol, CZ
Varroa mite
The Varroa mite(Varroa destructor) originally comes from Asia and parasitises bees and bee brood. Various bee viruses are transmitted by the Varroa mite. Both the parasitisation and the bee viruses damage bees and their brood stages. The Varroa mite has been present in Austria since around 1980 and can now be found in every bee colony. The Varroa mite is responsible for a large proportion of colony collapses in autumn and winter.
Since 1 January 2014, varroa control products have required authorisation as veterinary medicinal products (TAM) in Austria. Bees may only be treated with substances authorised for this species (Regulation (EU) No. 37/2010) (§ 4 (5) TAKG).
Only authorised veterinary medicinal products may be used for control. The veterinary medicinal products authorised in Austria for varroa control can be found in the Register of Speciality Medicinal Products of the Federal Office for Safety in Health Care (BASG), where instructions for use and technical information are available for each preparation.
In our pathogen database you will find extensive information on varroa mites, varroosis, varroa control and illustrative videos on the biology and control of varroa mites.
Further information
bienengesundheit.at was launched in 2017 to provide assistance in the effective control of the varroa mite, modelled on the warning services in the field of plant cultivation. In addition to the Varroa weather service, you will also find a wealth of other information on the topic of varroa mites here. Since 2024, the site has also hosted the Austria-wide reporting platform for the Asian hornet(Vespa velutina), which can be accessed directly via velutinamelden.at
Suspected bee poisoning
The competent authorities in cases of suspected bee poisoning are the district administrative authorities (Bezirkshauptmannschaft, Magistrat). In case of suspected crime, a report must be filed with the police. If you are unsure, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Possible causes of poisoning damage
- Plant protection products: poisoning by plant protection measures in agriculture and forestry or in gardens; largest share of poisoning damages
- Crimes: bees are poisoned wantonly
- Industrial waste gases (e.g. emissions containing arsenic, lead or fluorine)
- Poisoning by toxic nectar or pollen
Signs of bee poisoning
- Mass mortality on the ground in front of the hive entrance, on flight boards and in hives
- Conspicuous behavior of bees at the flight hole
- Strong and sudden decrease in bee flight and colony strength. If the foraging bees in the field are hit by agents of high acute toxicity, many of them die already during the flight.
- Brood changes: Plant protection products from the group of growth regulators that damage brood development leave characteristic damage patterns (white-gray crescents on the inner edge of the compound eyes) on dead pupae and young bees that do not appear until 10 to 25 days after spraying.
News: Small hive beetle Tropilaelaps mite
For Europe, the occurrence of Tropilaelaps mercedesae was detected in the eastern Black Sea region from 2021(Brandorf et al. 2024, Journal of Apicultural Research). Tropilaelaps mites do not yet occur in Austria or the EU.
News: Asian hornet (Vespa velutina)
The first specimen of the Asian hornet (Vespa velutina) was found in Austria on 8 April 2024: an adult female was discovered in the city of Salzburg. On 20 June 2026, the first nest was also reported in Austria: in Vorarlberg, near the border with Switzerland, two primary nests were found close to one another and destroyed (location: Lustenau). These discoveries come as no surprise, as the Asian hornet is present in five of our seven neighbouring countries, in some cases very close to the Austrian border. Further introductions are therefore to be expected.
Spread to Europe
In 2014, the small hive beetle was discovered in southern Italy and has become established in Calabria. From 2015 onwards, the veterinary authorities in Calabria and Sicily set up monitoring colonies (so-called sentinel colonies) to gain an understanding of the infestation situation. In Sicily, infestations have been detected on several occasions: following the successful eradication of cases in 2014 and 2019, the small hive beetle was discovered on 5 October 2024 in a monitoring colony in Messina. It was subsequently established that the infestation is now also established in Sicily.
Spread within Italy due to illegal transport
The small hive beetle was spread as a result of an illegal transport of empty beehives and a swarm from the Calabria region to the Lazio region. This transport took place on 30 May 2026. On 31 May, three beetles were found whilst capturing the swarm. On the same day, the swarm was killed and the materials burnt; however, a flamed honey super was taken to the beekeeper’s apiary. Although the subsequent inspection did not reveal any presence of the small hive beetle, the entire apiary was destroyed. Official confirmation of the disease was received on 4 June 2026. Laboratory analyses revealed 100% genetic identity with beetles previously collected in Calabria. Comprehensive surveillance measures were put in place.
Spread to an area under EU jurisdiction
In the French overseas department of La Réunion, an island in the Pacific, the small hive beetle was detected on 5 July 2022 and has since spread across the island. France – and thus also the EU – is dealing with this outbreak both politically and organisationally.
Legal regulations for the import of bees
As there is also a risk of the introduction of the beetle in Austria, it is essential to comply with the legal regulations on the import of bees. According to Implementing Decision (EU) 2023/110, Calabria and La Réunion are subject to restrictions. The provisions on movement within the Union are described in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/688 of 17 December 2019. The movement of bee colonies from a restricted region and a 100 km buffer zone surrounding this region is not permitted.
For the transport of queens in cages (single queen with a maximum of 20 nurse bees per cage), smaller minimum distances to infestation areas of the small hive beetle are possible (at least 50 km distance to a confirmed case). For the movement of bumblebee colonies, breeding must take place in a facility that is shielded from the outside world.
The basic prerequisites for any movement are valid veterinary certificates from the country of origin, notification of the movement via TRACES and notification to the competent veterinary authority of the recipient country. This means that both the authorities of the country of origin and the host country are informed about the movement of bees or bumblebees and can carry out targeted checks.
Information on the current epidemiological situation in Italy
- in Italian language: https://www.izsvenezie.it/aethina-tumida-in-italia/
- in English language: https://www.izsvenezie.com/aethina-tumida-in-italy/
Sample submission
Our offer for examinations on bee health and bee products
We are at your disposal as competent contact persons for the examination of bee diseases. You can send us samples of your bee colony if you suspect a disease. We will carry out the requested examinations for you. The current price list applies to examinations for which a fee is charged. You can find it under Downloads at the bottom of the page.
We kindly ask you to enclose a written order form with the samples. The order form can be found in the downloads. For details on sample types, sample size, packaging and shipping, please refer to the enclosed leaflet "Private Probeneinsendung".
Samples can be sent to the contact address below. Alternatively, submission is also possible from Monday to Thursday from 9-12 and 13-15 and Friday from 9-12.
Last updated: 31.07.2026
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