Live Animal Imports: Honeybees (Apis mellifera) and Bumble Bees (Bombus spp.)

Regulation (EU) 2016/429 (‘Animal Health Law’) and Regulation (EU) 2020/692 provide the rules for the entry into the Union of honeybees (Apis mellifera) and Bumble bees (Bombus spp.).

1. Honeybees and bumble bees must comply with the general import conditions for live animals on gov.ie - Live Animal Imports (www.gov.ie).

2. Only consignments of bumble bees or queen honeybees (with a maximum of 20 attendants) are permitted to enter the Union.

3. The list of countries, territories or parts thereof authorised for the export of honeybees and bumble bees are laid down in Annex VII of Regulation (EU) 2021/404.

4. Consignments of honeybees and bumble bees must come from an establishment approved by the competent authority of the third country.

5. The animals must comply with the residency period detailed in the PDF below:

1. Consignments of queen honeybees shall only be permitted to enter into the Union if the animals of the consignment come from establishments:

2. Consignments of queen honeybees must originate from hives where a sample of comb has been tested for American foulbrood with a negative result within the period of 30 days prior to date of dispatch to the Union.

1. Bumble bees may only enter the Union where they have been bred and kept in an environmentally isolated bumble bee production establishment which has facilities as described in Article 69(a) of Regulation 2020/692 and in which infestation with Aethina tumida has not been detected.

2. Consignments must travel in a closed container with each colony containing a maximum of 200 adult bumble bees, with or without a queen.

Transport and Dispatch to the Union

1. The packaging material and queen cages used to dispatch the bees into the Union must be new, must not have been in contact with any bees or brood combs, and must have been subject to all precuations to prevent their contamination with pathogens causing diseases of honeybees or bumble bees.

2. The feedingstuff accompanying the animals must be free from pathogens causing their diseases

3. The packaging material and accompanying products must have undergone a visual examination prior to dispatch to the Union to ensure that they do not contain

4. Bumble bees and honeybees may not be transhipped through a third country which is not listed for the entry to the Union of honeybees and bumble bees.

1. Consignments imported from third countries must be accompanied by the relevant health certificate, which conforms to the models laid down in Regulation (EU) 2021/404 and which is signed by an official veterinarian or inspector of the veterinary authority in the country of origin.

Model QUE (Chapter 36) – Queen Honeybees

Model BBEE (Chapter 37) – Bumblebees

1. Consignments live animals entering the EU must be inspected at an EU-approved Border control Post (BCP) where Member States' official veterinarians ensure they fulfil all the requirements provided for in the EU legislation.

2. The person responsible for the load being imported (the importer or a customs agent acting on their behalf) must give the BCP at the intended point of entry advance notification of the arrival of the consignment.

There is a required minimum pre-notification notice period of at least 24 hours’ notice in advance of the consignment’s arrival.

Failure to submit correct documentation within this timeline may result in significant delays in the consignment being processed through the Border Control Post.

Pre-notification is given by the submission of Part 1 of the Common Health Entry Document (CHED-P), as is laid down in Commission Implementing Regulation (EC) No. 2019/1715, through the online TRACES system.

3. Copies of other supporting documentation associated with the consignment should be submitted at this time as well - such as the Health Certificate, Invoice, Packing list and so on.

4. Necessary documents and logistical information must be submitted 24 hours in advance via the DAFM Import Portal.

1. All live animals from third countries require veterinary checks at their point of entry into the European Union, as listed in Annex I to Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/632.

2. EU harmonised import controls are carried out at an approved Border Control Post (BCP) that is designated to deal with that species of animal. A consignment of honeybees or bumble bees may only enter Ireland through an approved Border Control Post (BCP) designated ‘O’ for other animals

Dublin Airport, Dublin Port and Rosslare port BCPs are all approved for ‘O’ animals.

3. Providing all the documentation has been submitted correctly and within the correct timeframes, a large proportion of the documentary check can be commenced in advance of the consignment’s arrival. This includes examination of the veterinary certificate and other documents accompanying a consignment

The original hard copy of the health certificate must travel with the consignment, and will be checked and held at the BCP at the point of entry into the EU

4. Provided all is in order with the documentary check, the consignment of live animals will then be subject to an identity check and physical check with/without sampling as appropriate at the BCP.

5. Upon satisfactory completion of the required checks, the decision is entered in Part 2 of the CHED which must accompany the consignment to the first place of destination referred to in the CHED. The consignment of live animals may then circulate freely within the EU.

6. If the consignment does not meet the import requirements, the consignment may be rejected entry and re-exported or in exceptional circumstances, humanely destroyed if necessary.

Handling after entry

1. Queen honeybees must be transferred from the transport cage to new cages under the direct supervision of the competent authority.

2. Following the transfer to the new cage, the transport cage, attendants and other material that accompanied the queen honeybees must be submitted to an official laboratory for examination to rule out the presence of Aethina tumida, including eggs and larvae, and any signs of the Tropilaelapsmite.

3. Operators receiving bumble bees shall destroy the container and the packaging material that accompanied the bees from the third country of origin but they may keep them in the container in which they entered the Union until the end of the lifespan of the colony.