Apimondia Federation

12/06/2026

🐝 Did you know that 1 in 4 European veterinary schools teaches nothing about honey bee health?

And yet veterinary professionals are legally responsible for setting honey bee disease controls under World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) Terrestrial Code Chapter 4.15. They are graduating without the training to do the job properly.

With Varroa, exotic pests, and viral diseases threatening colonies worldwide, the Apimondia Federation Working Group-GVPA is calling on the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) for urgent change: mandatory bee health training in veterinary schools globally.

✅ Mandate a minimum of 20 core bee health hours in veterinary curricula worldwide
✅ Develop WOAH Day One competences for honey bees, harmonised with European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE) and American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) standards.
✅ Require bee health training — including preventive medicine, queen bee trading, and beeswax-borne diseases.
✅ Expand postgraduate and continuing education programmes for practising veterinarians
✅ Establish global monitoring of honey bee veterinary education compliance
✅ Promote interdisciplinary One Health approaches connecting bee health, food safety, environmental health, and ecosystem resilience

Because healthy bees need expert professionals. And expert vets need proper training in insect pollinators.

Read Policy Brief #7 here 👉https://apimondia.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/07_Honeybee-Veterinary-Education-Advancement.pdf

09/06/2026

🐝 We can't protect bees without better data — and right now, the gaps are bigger than most people realise.

Apimondia Federation Working Group - GVPA latest Policy Brief #6 maps the most urgent research gaps in honey bee veterinary medicine: from disease surveillance and diagnostics to treatment safety and the exciting but under-validated world of digital hive monitoring.

The ask? A coordinated international effort to identify what we don't know — and fix it. 🔬

Because better data means stronger policies, healthier bees, and safer communities. 🌍

Read more here 👉 https://apimondia.org/filling-the-gaps-a-new-policy-brief-on-research-priorities-in-bee-veterinary-medicine/

05/06/2026

📢 Apimondia Newsletter #18 is now available!

Discover the latest news, activities, and developments from the global beekeeping community. In this issue, you will find updates from Apimondia, reports from our commissions, and information on upcoming events and initiatives.

📖 Read the newsletter now!

Please feel free to share it with your colleagues and fellow beekeepers around the world.

Français / Español / العربية / Português / Русский

05/06/2026

🐝 Policy Brief #5 is out — and it addresses a gap that is hard to believe still exists.

The APIMONDIA AWG-GVPA has just published its latest brief: Proposing WOAH International Standards for Honey Bee Viral Disease Listing.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: honey bee viral diseases are not listed in any WOAH international standard. Not in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code. Not in the Manual of Diagnostic Tests and Vaccines.

And yet several honey bee viruses are now well-recognised as high-impact pathogens — particularly when transmitted or amplified by the parasitic mite Varroa destructor such as: DWV-A & DWV-B (Deformed Wing Virus), CBPV (Chronic Bee Paralysis Virus) and ABPV (Acute Bee Paralysis Virus).

These viruses can silently circulate in clinically healthy colonies, strike as mixed infections, and ultimately drive complete colony collapse — threatening the pollination services that underpin 75% of the world's leading crops.

This brief calls on World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) to act now:

✅ Include selected honey bee viral diseases in the Terrestrial Animal Health Code
✅ Develop dedicated diagnostic, surveillance, and biosafety chapters in the Terrestrial Manual
✅ Empower veterinary services, beekeepers, and apiary laboratories as frontline responders

Honey bee viral diseases are no longer a niche apicultural concern. They are animal health issues with global consequences for food security, biodiversity, and One Health.

It's time World Organisation for Animal Health standards reflected that.

Read the full brief here: https://apimondia.org/closing-the-gap-why-honey-bee-viral-diseases-must-be-listed-by-woah/

04/06/2026

🦋Last FAO consultation to establish the Global Pollinator Platform!

Join us for this third stakeholder consultation and contribute with your ideas and expertise:

📅 This Tuesday, 9 June 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM CEST — Session in English.

For the FAO consultation for Asia & Oceania, REGISTER HERE: https://lnkd.in/ePmRpXQg by June 8th.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Apimondia Federation are inviting stakeholders worldwide to join three online consultations on the establishment of the Global Pollinator Platform ahead of the Global Pollinator Conference on 16–17 September 2026.

These sessions will provide updates on progress and gather views on the needs and expectations for the Platform.

Read more: https://lnkd.in/ev4ZDh-X

04/06/2026

Did you know antibiotics are still being used in beehives around the world — often with no vet involved and no regulation? 🍯

And yes, that can end up in your honey.

Continuing published our Policy briefs, proposed by the AWG GVPA, here is another interesting subject, on Antibiotic stewardship in Apiculture. This one covers a hidden but very real threat to bee health, food safety, and the global fight against antimicrobial resistance. 🐝

👉Antibiotic use in beekeeping is not just a farming issue — it's a public health, food safety, and environmental crisis hiding in plain sight.

1- Irrational use of antibiotics in beekeeping threatens food safety and accelerates antimicrobial resistance and it is an existing bad practice.
2- Lack of harmonised international guidelines weakens global Anti-microbial Resistance (AMR) control efforts in beekeeping.
3- Veterinary supervision and surveillance systems are essential for responsible antibiotic use but do not exist in the majority of the world.
4- Development of sustainable alternatives is crucial for the future of beekeeping, and someone needs to take the lead.

Because what happens in the hive doesn't stay in the hive.

Read Policy Brief #4 here 👉https://apimondia.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Antibiotic-Stewardship-in-Apiculture.pdf

The use of antibiotics in beekeeping represents a critical issue at the intersection of animal health and welfare, food safety, and environmental sustainability. Inconsistent regulations, limited veterinary surveillance, and insufficient alternative solutions contribute to risks such as antimicrobia...

29/05/2026

Hello 🐝 World!

How much of what beekeepers 'know' is actually evidence-based?

Today we also release the Policy Brief #3 of this series, called "Myth Busters" for a reason!

From miracle cures to misused chemicals and treatments that simply don't work, beekeeping is full of practices passed down through tradition, anecdote, and marketing — not science. And it's costing bees their lives.

The APIMONDIA AWG-GVPA is calling for a permanent international Myth Busters framework to sort fact from fiction, so beekeepers worldwide can make informed, evidence-based decisions for their colonies. 🌍

Because healthy bees need more than good intentions — they need good science. 🔬

Read Policy Brief #3 here 👉https://apimondia.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/POLICY-BRIEF_-Myth-Busters-Evidence-Based-clarification-in-veterinary-medicine-and-apiculture.pdf

28/05/2026

👉Dear Beekeeping friends and Bee Scientists!🐝
✍️ It is our pleasure to share with you the 2nd Policy Brief by the Apimondia Working Group on Good Veterinary Practices in Apiculture (GVPA), which is focusing on HONEY BEE WELFARE FRAMEWORK.

https://apimondia.org/apimondia-gvpa-launches-policy-brief-on-a-honey-bee-welfare-framework-for-woah/

27/05/2026

🌏 Are you a pollinator expert?
🦋 Do you want to play a role in creating the Global Pollinator Platform?

Join us for the two remaining stakeholder consultations that suit you best:

📅 This Friday, 29 May 2026 from 13:00 to 16:00 CEST — Session in English and French.
For the FAO consultation for Europe & Africa
REGISTER HERE : https://lnkd.in/et3jeSyd

📅 Tuesday, 9 June 2026 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM CEST — Session in English. For the FAO consultation for Asia & Oceania
REGISTER HERE: https://lnkd.in/ePmRpXQg

FAO and APIMONDIA International Federation of Beekeepers' Associations are inviting stakeholders worldwide to join three online consultations on the establishment of the Global Pollinator Platform ahead of the Global Pollinator Conference on 16–17 September 2026.

These sessions will provide updates on progress and gather views on the needs and expectations for the Platform.

Read more: https://lnkd.in/eTzJafrt

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22/05/2026

🐝🐝🐝WBD 2026. Bee Together for People and the Planet.
On the occasion of World Bee Day (20 May), FAO and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food of Slovenia, in collaboration with APIMONDIA, organised the 3rd International Forum for Action on Sustainable Beekeeping and Pollination, a 2-day event, 20th and 21st of May 2026, in Maribor, Slovenia.
This is an ongoing effort for sustainable beekeeping and the protection of pollinators. Find more:
https://apimondia.org/wbd-2026-bee-together-for-people-and-the-planet/