American Foul Brood (AFB) is an notifiable disease, and it is very important that beekeepers understand the signs of foul brood and other brood disorders.
Follow this link for a presentation titled Managing American Foul Brood (AFB)
Follow this link for follow on notes for Managing American Foul Brood (AFB)
Inspect your colonies every spring and autumn specifically to check for brood disease. If in doubt seek expert advice, and for details on how to deal with an outbreak and reporting requirements see the Federation of Irish Beekeepers Association policy.
Any beekeeper who suspects the presence of either American (A.F.B.) or European Foul Brood (E.F.B.), in a colony of bees should send a sample for analysis to Dr Mary Coffey, Bee Diagnostic Service, Plant Health Laboratory, Blackweston, Celbridge, Co Kildare, W23 X3PH.
You can download the form to label your sample here, and carefully follow the guidance for dispatching samples explained in the form.
Asian hornets (Vespa velutina) are an invasive species confirmed in Ireland, posing a major threat to native pollinators, especially honeybees, with the first confirmed sighting in Cork in August 2025 leading to the removal of the first nest in September 2025. For more information on identification and reporting policy please see here.
It is the responsibility of every beekeeper to protect our honeybee – an essential pollinator of crops and wild plants. Bees are subject to certain diseases, both of the brood and of the adult and the beekeeper should be very vigilant to ensure that hygiene standards and good apiary management are maintained. There is the satisfaction of good animal husbandry knowing the bees are well fed, healthy and housed in dry hives safe from pests.
The Honey Bee Health Surveillance Programme aims to provide a disease diagnostic service for beekeepers. It assists beekeepers with the detection of pests and diseases in the colony even at low levels of infection or infestation.
The Department of Agriculture Food and the Marine, offer a Honey Bee Health Surveillance Programme, and to ensure that the analyses are reliable, it is important that beekeepers submit good quality samples which are representative of the colony.
The Department has produced detailed guidance on how and when to sample. For more information please follow this link
