Pursuant to the authority vested by 6 V.S.A. Chapter
172, the Commissioner of Agriculture hereby issues the following
Regulations:
Section I
DEFINITIONS
1. "Abandoned apiary"
means any apiary in this state whose location has not been registered
with the Commissioner and for which the owner cannot be located after
reasonable effort.
2.
"A.I.A. Resolution 7" means Resolution # 7 as adopted at the 1985
Annual Meeting of the Apiary Inspectors of America, entitled
"Tracheal Mite Certification of Honey Bee Colonies," and which is set
forth, in full, in Appendix A of these regulations.
3. "Apiary" means a place where one
or more colonies of bees are kept and shall include hives and
bees.
4. "Bee" means the
insect commonly known as the honeybee (Apis mellifera), or other
species of the genus Apis, at any stage of its existence including
the egg, larval, pupal or adult stages.
5. "Brood comb" means a structure
of cells composed of beeswax in which bees lay their eggs and in
which immature bees are reared.
6. "Colony" means the hive and its
equipment including bees, comb and honey.
7. "Commissioner" means the
Commissioner of the Department of Agriculture or his or her
designee.
8. "Department"
means the Vermont Department of Agriculture.
9. "Destroy" means to burn bees,
combs and frames or other equipment which cannot be disinfected by
scorching or other approved methods.
10. "Disease" shall mean any
serious malady which is infectious, contagious, or injurious to bees
and shall include, but is not limited to: American foulbrood,
European foulbrood, or external or internal parasites or parasitoids
of bees.
11. "Equipment"
means hives, supers, and frames.
12. "Hive" means frame, hive, box
hive, box, barrel, log gum, skep or other receptacle or container,
natural or artificical[artificial], or any part thereof, which is
used or employed as a domicile for bees.
13. "Honeycomb" means a structure
of cells composed of beeswax in which bees store honey.
14. "Inspector" means any person
designated by the Commissioner to inspect apiaries and enforce this
chapter.
15. "Owner"
means a person who in any way owns, leases, possesses or otherwise
controls an apiary, colony, hive, bees, or equipment and shall
include the agent of such person.
16. "Person" shall include all
corporations, partnerships, associations, societies, individuals or
group of individuals or any employee, servant or agent acting for or
employed by any person as above defined.
17. "Reasonable hour" means any
time of day between 7:00 a.m. and sunset when the temperature is
above 60 degrees Fahrenheit.
18. "Serious disease" means a
disease that threatens the existence of the colony which includes,
but is not limited to, American foulbrood, European foulbrood, or
external or internal parasites or parasitoids of bees.
Section II CERTIFICATES
OF INSPECTION
1. The Commissioner
may issue the following certificates of inspection:
a. A certificate of inspection
certifying that an apiary has been inspected in accordance with 6
V.S.A. Chapter 172 and the regulations promulgated thereunder and has
been found to be apparently free of diseases injurious to
bees.
b. A certificate of
inspection certifying that an apiary, colony, hive equipment or
shipment of bees has been inspected in accordance with any particular
sampling or inspection procedure, and that the bees or equipment so
inspected are apparently free of diseases or are free of any
particular disease or condition for which they have been
inspected.
2.
The Commissioner may suspend, amend, revoke or cancel any certificate
of inspection issued under 6 V.S.A. Chapter 172 or the regulations
promulgated thereunder if he or she finds that the conditions under
which a previous inspection was made have changed, or that a disease
condition has become present.
3. The Commissioner may order that
any bees or equipment inspected under 6 V.S.A. Chapter 172 or the
regulations promulgated thereunder be:
a. destroyed;
b. treated in a particular manner;
or
c. transported, sold
or otherwise distributed only under certain conditions such as the
Commissioner may prescribe.
4. It shall be deemed to be a
violation of 6 V.S.A. Chapter 172 and the regulations promulgated
thereunder for any person to:
a.
refuse or otherwise fail to comply with any validly issued order of
the Commissioner regarding the transportation, treatment or
destruction of diseased bees or equipment; or
b. impede or hinder the
Commissioner in discharging any of the responsibilities conferred by
6 V.S.A. Chapter 172 and the regulations promulgated
thereunder.
Section III INSPECTION OF APIARIES
1. The Commissioner may examine all
apiaries as necessary to determine whether any disease condition
exists.
2. Any apiary in
which a disease condition is found shall be inspected a second time
no less than ten days after the first inspection.
3. If, upon inspection, the
Commissioner finds no indication of any serious bee disease, he may
leave notice of inspection with the owner of the apiary, at the
owner's house or place of business, or in a conspicuous place at the
apiary site.
4. If, upon
inspection, the Commissioner finds or suspects the presence of a
serious bee disease, he will mark or cause to be marked, in a clear
and conspicuous manner, the hive or hives in which the disease is
found or suspected. The marking shall be on all supers, hive bodies,
covers and bottom boards. A sample of the suspected or diseased bees
(larval smear) or comb may be taken and sent to the federal bee
disease laboratory for confirmation. If the federal laboratory
confirms the presence of any serious bee disease, the Commissioner
may destroy any infected colony of bees which he finds not to be
cured of the disease or not handled according to his instructions,
together with honeycombs, hives or other equipment, without
recompense to the owner of such bees or equipment.
5. Nothing in this regulation shall
prevent the Commissioner from destroying or treating, with the
consent of the owner, or his or her agent, any bees or equipment at
any time.
6. The
completion date for any order to treat or destroy bees shall be at
least ten days after the issuance of such order.
Section IV APIARY LOCATION
1. A person who petitions the state
for permission to establish an apiary within two miles of an existing
registered apiary which has fallen below fifteen hives, as provided
for in
6 V.S.A Section
3034(5), shall
send the petition to the Commissioner, in writing, with an attached
statement detailing the locations of the existing and proposed
apiaries, as well as any other information required by the
Commissioenr.
2. The
Commissioner shall maintain a list of apiary locations. Apiaries
listed thereon shall be considered properly registered.
Section V HONEY BEE
TRACHEAL MITE QUARANTINE
1.
Authority of the Commissioner.
Pursuant to the authority of
6 V.S.A. Section
3030, the Commissioner declares the
tracheal mite, Acarapis woodi, an internal parasite of honeybees, to
be a pest which could be detrimental to the beekeeping industry in
Vermont. A quarantine is hereby established against bees infested
with tracheal mite.
2. Regulated Articles.
a. The following items and
commodities are prohibited from entry into Vermont:
Bee colonies, packaged bees and queen bees of the
species Apis mellifera which originated in or, during the previous
two years, overwintered in any state or county now or in the future
under federal or state quarantine imposed for the purposes of
controlling or eradicating the tracheal mite, or in any state or
county in which the mite is known to have become established or is
endemic.
b. Bee
colonies, packaged bees and queen bees not otherwise excluded under
Subsection
2.a of this
Section may enter Vermont only when each shipment of such items is
accompanied by the following:
(1) A
valid certificate of inspection, issued by the state or county of
origin, as required by
6
V.S.A. Section 3032, and
(2) A certification, issued by the
state or county of origin, certifying that the bees contained in the
shipment are from an apiary which has been sampled in accordance with
A.I.A. Resolution 7 and have been found to be free of tracheal
mite.
c. For
the purposes of the certification required by Subsection
2.b of this
Section, a single health certificate, issued by the state or county
of origin as required by
6
V.S.A. Section 3032, which contains
a specific certification that the bees contained in the shipment are
from an apiary which has been sampled in accordance with A.I.A.
Resolution 7 and have been found to be free of tracheal mite, will be
accepted.
3.
Certification of Bees for Shipment Out of Vermont
Bees intended for shipment to locations outside of
Vermont may be certified as apparently free of tracheal mite. Upon
request of any beekeeper registered with the Vermont Department of
Agriculture, or any other interested person, the Commissioner shall
inspect and take bee samples from that person's apiary. The sampling
shall be conducted in accordance with A.I.A. Resolution 7. If the
apiary is found to be apparently free of tracheal mite, the
Commissioner shall issue a certificate to that effect.
Nothing in this regulation shall be construed to
limit any of the authority of the Commissioner under 6 V.S.A. Chapter
172 or these regulations or any other statutory or regulatory
provisions.
4.
Attachment of Certificate.
The certificate or certificates required by Sub
sections
2 or
3
of this Section shall be securely attached to the outside of the
container in which the bee colonies, packaged bees or queen bees are
moved or transported. Except that, in lieu of attachment to the
container, the certificate or certificates may be attached to a
shipping document which accompanies such shipment, provided that the
regulated articles are adequately described on the shipping document
or the certificates.
5. Movement of Diseased Bees within
Vermont.
No person shall transport or cause to be transported
within the State of Vermont any live or dead bees from any apiary in
which tracheal mite is found, except upon specific orders of the
Commissioner.
6.
Violation of Quarantine.
a. It
shall be a violation of 6 V.S.A. Chapter 172 and these regulations
for any person to ship or cause to be shipped into Vermont any bee
colonies, packaged bees, or queen bees which are prohibited under
Subsection
2.a of this
Section, or are not accompanied by a valid certificate or
certificates under Subsection
2.b and 2.c
of this Section.
b. It
shall be a violation of 6 V.S.A. Chapter 172 and these regulations to
ship within Vermont any live or dead bees in which the Commissioner
has identified the presence of tracheal mite and has restricted such
movement in accordance with Subsection
5.
of these regulations.
c.
Each shipment transported into or within Vermont in violation of
Section V of these regulations shall be considered to be a separate
violation of 6 V.S.A. Chapter 172 and these regulations. A fine of up
to $ 500.00 for each violation is provided for in
6 V.S.A Section
3035.
Appendix A Apiary Inspectors of America Resolution
from 1985 Annual Meeting
Resolution # 7--Tracheal Mite Certification of Honey
Bee Colonies
WHEREAS, there is a lack of uniform honey bee
tracheal mite sampling requirements pertaining to interstate movement
of bees from States, and
WHEREAS, variations in procedures and regulations
between States would create havoc within the industry, and
WHEREAS, the American Beekeeping Federation has
requested the Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) to seek adoption of
uniform certification requirements, now therefore:
BE IT RESOLVED: That the AIA requests all States to
adopt the following uniform requirements for determining a
tracheal-mite-free status of honey bees to be moved
interstate.
A. Noninfested
States--Sampling will be conducted at the 1984 national survey level
to determine a mite-free State status. Sampling must have been
completed within a 12-month period in order to certify bees for
shipment. No additional sampling is required for individual
shipments.
B. Infested
States with eradication--Sampling required as in A.
C. Infested States with county
quarantines.
1. Noninfested
counties--Sampling required as in A.
2. Infested counties--
a. 1 (one) sample/50 colonies must
be taken.
b. 10 percent
of the colonies must be sampled with at least 5 colonies being
sampled.
c. 500 bees must
be collected per sample.
d. 100 bees must be examined from
each sample.
e. Sampling
must have been completed within a 12-month period.
D. Generally
infested States--All bees leaving State must be certified as listed
in C.2.
E. Any operation
currently with mite-infested colonies is not eligible for
certification.
Statutory
Authority: 6 V.S.A. Chapter 172
