Guidelines on sustainable management of honey bee diseases in Europe
“Guidelines on sustainable management of honey bee diseases in Europe” is the title of the latest publication released by BPRACTICES team.
The document stands for one the main outputs of BRACTICES project, i.e. the definition of best cross-EU good beekeeping practices (GBPs) the best cross-EU GBPs for the proper honeybee colonies management.
The guidelines specifically list to beekeepers new and effective management practices and feasible and practical diagnostic methods to properly prevent and control the main bee diseases. The GBPs have been validated on-farm at the apiary level, thanks to the collaboration of professional and hobbyist beekeepers.
The first part of the document lists the main practices for sustainable beekeeping that concern:
- the apiary management, in terms of the management of both the environment and the infrastructure
- bee feeding
- general measures for disease prevention and management
- treatment of bees and beehive products
- the use of drugs and disinfection processes in case of diseases.
In the second part, these same practices are applied to specific diseases, such as varroosis and virosis, American Foulbrood, European Foulbrood, Nosemosis, and Aethina tumida. Finally, two specific chapters are dedicated to the important topic of honey bee product traceability and the acceptance of such innovative system from the consumers’ point of view.