How to Keep Bees During COVID-19

The virus spreads from person to person through physical contact and via respiratory droplets that are produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes, or talks. The pandemic started in China, where the virus infected humans from an animal host (most likely bats or pangolins). Because of globalized industrial trade and international air travel, COVID-19 has made its way across the planet in only three months. People all over the world are now trying to collectively slow down the spread of the virus by decreasing the chances of infected people being in contact with healthy ones through social distancing.

This pandemic is reminiscent of the spread of Varroa mites across the globe when it jumped from the Asian honey bee (Apis ceranae) to the Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) when they were brought together by human actions. Varroa mites traveled the world and are now found in all honey bee colonies everywhere except for Australia. Australia has been spared because they limited the movement of bees (akin to human social distancing) and established a bee biosecurity program (vigilance and testing). The spread of Varroa mites has facilitated the transmission of many bee viruses, including one of the most common honey bee viruses, Deformed Wing Virus (DWV). Global travel and trade increase the spread of pests and diseases in bees and humans. Therefore, measures such as those put in place by Australia are essential to the successful control of pandemics.

A. Deformed wing virus image using x-ray crystallography (courtesy of Pavel Plevka). B. The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Illustration.

It is springtime in the United States and beekeepers are preparing for the honey bee season. Overwintered colonies will be checked, fed, and split, and new colonies will be established by installing packages and nucs. If your county or state is on lockdown and you are asked to stay home, can you legally and ethically take care of your colonies? The answer, as with most questions in beekeeping, is "it depends".

Agriculture is a life-sustaining business because it is the basis of food production. Beekeepers are producers of animals and provide support activities for crop and animal production through pollination services provided by bees. Pollination is necessary for sustaining the food supply. Because of this, beekeeping businesses are considered essential. Therefore, if your state allows all essential businesses to continue functioning you may continue with the regular activities of your beekeeping operations. However, several precautions must be taken to comply with the social distancing recommendation that will help to slow the spread of COVID-19. If you are a beekeeper who will be managing colonies during this time, please do so responsibly to avoid compromising your health and the health of others. Here are a few recommendations:

• Limit the number of visits to the colonies while also caring for them properly. For example, add supers in a manner that ensures that they have space for several weeks of nectar collection which can help prevent swarming.
• Practice social distancing by managing colonies alone or with as few people as possible. Consider driving separate cars to the bee yards. it is recommended that people stay at least 6 ft away from each other and your veil, bee suit, and leather gloves are not barriers to the virus. Nitrile or latex gloves can be worn and disposed of to keep the virus off of your hands.
• If you are feeling sick (even mildly) or if you have been around someone who is sick, please stay home for at least 14 days and ask a trusted friend to manage the colonies in your absence.
• Beekeeping clubs and groups must not meet in person for any reason. We should all be enjoying the use of modern technologies that allow us to meet virtually. Beekeeping classes and meetings can be held via Zoom or Skype, for example.
• Take this opportunity to create online resources for your club. Beekeepers can wear GoPro cameras while assessing colonies to create videos for upload onto YouTube or your club's web site. Consider writing a blog or creating a vlog about what is happening in your apiary. Create and share a list of beekeeping books and articles. There is a lot that can be shared.
• If you are distributing or picking up packages or nucs, practice social distancing. For example, set up drive-through pick-up so customers don't mingle or get out of their cars. Consider using Sign-up Genius to designate pick-up times to ensure that customers arrive at staggered times instead of all at once. If you pick up your bees at the same time as many others, do what you can to stay six feet away from everyone else.
• If you participate in a farmer's market and it is still open, review these recommendations. They include social distancing, surface sanitation, and other helpful suggestions for your continued safety.
• If you are stopped by a police officer while driving to your apiary, please show your apiary license or beekeeping equipment as proof that you are working on a life-sustaining activity related to agriculture. If you need to renew your license, please visit the PDA's PaPlants website.
• Health care workers are wearing N95 face masks to protect themselves from infection. The P100 respirator that you wear for oxalic acid vaporization is also effective! However, you might scare away everyone you meet.

We're all in this together, while staying separate physically. Please continue to be informed about how the situation changes—since it is constantly changing—and follow the guidelines and recommendations from local, state and federal governments. Be safe, stay well and allow your bees to bring you joy.