A "highly contagious" disease that kills off entire colonies of honeybees is spreading in the north of Scotland, leading to fears that millions of bees across the entire country may become affected.
The Scottish Government yesterday confirmed that American Foulbrood (AFB) disease had been detected in an apiary at Scaniport, near Inverness.
The area west of Inverness has been declared off-limits for bee imports, and the movement of bees and related equipment into or out of the affected area is prohibited.
The latest report of AFB infection comes just two months after a major outbreak of AFB was found in the St Cyrus area of south Aberdeenshire, where two apiaries containing some 150,000 bees had to be destroyed.
The Scaniport outbreak was confirmed yesterday following laboratory diagnosis by Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture (SASA).
The AFB infected hive has been destroyed as there is no permitted treatment for the disease in the UK.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “There are no risks to public health from AFB and no implications for the quality and safety of honey.”
The risk is to the bees themselves as AFB – the most widespread and destructive disease of its type – kills bee larvae which ingest spores in their food that contain the infectious bacteria.
The spores that spread the disease within colonies can survive for up to 40 years, meaning that infected bee hives usually have to be burned.
There have been periodic outbreaks of AFB in Scotland over the years, and AFB is one reason why bee populations are in decline across the Northern Hemisphere.
Other reasons for the decline are complex and involve climate change, loss of habitat, and the effects of certain pesticides which are all thought to be affecting bee population health.
A dramatic failure of honeybee colonies took place across Scotland in 2012-13 when a record 31 per cent of managed colonies failed to survive the winner and 55 per cent of wild colonies are thought to have died out over the same period.
Research into bee health has accelerated since with Dundee University to the fore in a joint project with the Scottish Beekeepers Association.
Since bees and other pollinators are worth an estimated £1.8 billion to the UK agriculture industry each year, and since there are more than 1,000 beekeepers in Scotland, the spread of AFB is worrying.
AFB is a notifiable disease under The Bee Diseases and Pests Control (Scotland) Order 2007, and Government experts say it is “is highly contagious and difficult to eradicate.”
Unlike European Foulbrood, hives with AFB cannot be treated and must be destroyed.
A Scottish Government statement said: “Bee farmers and beekeepers are being urged to be vigilant for signs of the disease, to maintain good husbandry practices and to notify any suspicion of disease to Bees_Mailbox@gov.scot
“Classic signs of the disease are sunken cappings on cells, which when uncapped reveal dead larvae in various stages of decomposition. The larvae have a caramel like, light to dark brown consistency and when drawn out, the decomposing material strings out rather than snapping off – the ropiness test.”
One beekeeper in the Borders said: “The only good thing is that AFB spreads slowly compared to other diseases, and it may well be that it has been found in time for it to stop being spread south.
“Otherwise this could be very serious for beekeepers who know only too well about the decline in bee numbers in recent years.”
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