Government bee health service
National Bee Unit (BeeBase)
The Animal and Plant Health Agency's bee health unit, which delivers the bee health programmes of Defra, the Welsh Government and Scotland. Its website, BeeBase, holds the voluntary register of beekeepers and apiaries.
What you will find
- Apiary registration on BeeBase, with local disease and pest alerts
- Statutory inspections for foulbrood and exotic pests
- Best practice guides, fact sheets and the beginner's guide Starting Right with Bees
- Training videos and online lectures
Good to know
American and European foulbrood are notifiable: report any suspicion to the NBU straight away.
Sources
Listing written from these pages on 26 October 2026. Prices and terms may have changed since: check them before you order.
Associations and bee health
Mutual bee disease insurance
Bee Diseases Insurance (BDI)
Insurer owned by the beekeeping associations that join it. It compensates beekeepers in England and Wales for equipment lost when colonies are destroyed or treated under the statutory foulbrood orders.
England and Wales
Trade association of professional beekeepers
Bee Farmers' Association (BFA)
UK trade association for professional beekeeping, representing around 450 bee farming businesses, from part-time operations to farms with a dozen or more staff.
The whole UK
Bee breeding charity
BIBBA – Bee Improvement and Bee Breeders Association
Charitable incorporated organisation working to conserve and improve Apis mellifera mellifera, the native dark bee of Britain and Ireland, and to encourage locally adapted bees elsewhere.
The whole UK