Section 21.13. Honeybees; import controls.

 

(1)   Reporting import shipments.

(a) No person may ship live honeybees or used beekeeping equipment into this state without first reporting the import shipment to the department in writing. A single report may cover 2 or more import shipments made in the same calendar year.

(b) A report under par. (a) shall include all of the following information for each import shipment covered by the report:

1. The name and address of the person making the import shipment.

2. A description of the import shipment. The description shall indicate whether the shipment includes any beehive or used beekeeping equipment, or whether it includes only a queen, a queen and attendant honeybees, or adult honeybees.

3. The expected date of the import shipment. If 2 or more import shipments are covered by the same report, the report need only include the expected date of the first import shipment.

4. The name and address of the beekeeping operation from which the import shipment will originate, including the state, county and local address of that operation.

5. The name and address of the person receiving the import shipment in this state if that person is a wholesale distributor of honeybees or beekeeping equipment.

6. The original copy of each certificate required in connection with the import shipment under subs. (2) to (4) . Each certificate shall be issued by a pest control official in the state of origin, prior to the import shipment date. Each certificate shall be based on an inspection performed by the pest control official within 12 months prior to the import shipment date. A single certificate may cover 2 or more import shipments and may combine certifications under subs. (2) to (4) .

(2)   Species certification.

(a) Except as provided under par. (b) , no person may ship into this state any live honeybees or used beekeeping equipment originating from a county or parish in which, according to the National Agricultural Pest Insect Survey published by the United States department of agriculture, undesirable honeybees have been found.

(b) Paragraph (a) does not apply to either of the following:

1. Honeybees that a pest control official certifies under par. (c) as being European honeybees.

2. Used beekeeping equipment that a pest control official certifies as being free of live honeybees.

(c) A pest control official may use any of the following methods to certify that honeybees are European honeybees:

1. The Fast Africanized Bee Identification System published by the United States department of agriculture, agricultural research service.

2. The Morphometric Method for Identification of Africanized and European Honey Bees Using Large Reference Populations.

3. Any other method approved by the department.

(3)   Varroa mite certification.

(a) No person may ship live honeybees into this state unless those honeybees originate from a colony which a pest control official has certified as being apparently free of Varroa mite infestation.

(b) A pest control official may certify that honeybee colonies found at any location are apparently free of Varroa mite infestation if the pest control official does any of the following:

1. Examines at least 20% of those colonies using the ether roll method, and finds fewer than 3 mites per 250 honeybees in each examination. Under the ether roll method, the pest control official shall treat 250 honeybees with ether, and shall count the number of mites accumulated in the sampling jar.

2. Examines at least 20% of those colonies using the sticky board method, and finds fewer than 200 mites in each examination. Under the sticky board method, the pest control official shall treat a colony with a miticide approved by the federal environmental protection agency, shall collect the mites killed by the miticide during a period of at least 24 hours, and shall count the collected mites.

3. Examines at least 20% of those colonies using another test approved by the department, and finds that every inspected colony is apparently free of Varroa mite infestation based on a standard specified by the department.

(c) No person may ship used beekeeping equipment into this state unless a pest control official first certifies that the beekeeping equipment is apparently free of Varroa mite infestation.

(4)   American foulbrood certification.

(a) No person may ship live honeybees into this state unless those honeybees originate from a colony which a pest control official has certified as being apparently free of American foulbrood.

(b) A pest control official may certify that colonies found at any location are apparently free of American foulbrood if the pest control official visually examines at least 20% of the colonies at that location, and finds evidence of American foulbrood in fewer than 3% of the colonies examined.

(c) No person may ship used beekeeping equipment into this state unless a pest control official first certifies that the beekeeping equipment is apparently free of American foulbrood.

Cr. Register, December, 1994, No. 468 , eff. 1-1-95.

Note

The National Agricultural Pest Insect Survey (NAPIS), which is published on a regular periodic basis by the United States department of agriculture, identifies counties in which Africanized honeybees and other undesirable honeybees have been found. Recent issues of the National Agricultural Pest Insect Survey are available from the department. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Copies of the Fast Africanized Bee Identification Systems (FABIS) are on file with the department and the legislative reference bureau. Copies are available at cost from the department. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 The Morphometric Method for Identification of Africanized and European Honey Bees Using Large Reference Populations is described in Rinderer et al.,"Morphometric identification of Africanized and European honey bees using large reference populations," Apidologie (1993) 24, 569-585. Copies of this article are on file with the department and the legislative reference bureau. Copies are available at cost from the department. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1