EURL
European Union Reference Laboratory for
Bee Health
New detection of SHB in Sicily on October 2024
Written with the participation of the Italian NRL for Honey Bee Health (Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie)
More information can be found on the website of the Italian National Reference Laboratory (NRL) on Honey Bee Health.
As of November 19 2024, five new apiaries have been confirmed positive for Aethina tumida infestation in the municipality of Messina (Figure 1). In all 11 apiaries and three sentinel nuclei have been confirmed positive for SHB infestation.
Figure 1. The surveillance activity of A. tumida infestation in Sicily (as of November 19 2024). Please click on the figure to access the map with a higher resolution.
More information:
The map of 30 km protection zone for monitoring A. tumida in Calabria (as of November 19 2024)
As of November 5 2024, five new apiaries have been confirmed positive for Aethina tumida infestation in the municipality of Messina (Figure 1). Two of them are located at the frontier with the municipality of Villafranca Tirrena.
Figure 1. The surveillance activity of A. tumida infestation in Sicily (as of November 5 2024). Please click on the figure to access the map with a higher resolution.
More information:
The map of 30 km protection zone for monitoring A. tumida in Calabria (as of November 5 2024)
On October 9 2024, two sentinel nuclei were confirmed positive for Aethina tumida infestation in Eastern Sicily, within the coastal municipality of Messina (Figure 1). A total of 25 larvae and adults were detected as part of the surveillance system in place on the island. No information is currently available on the origin of the infestation. These sentinel nuclei were destroyed and the surrounding soil treated with permethrin.
On October 28, an apiary was confirmed positive in the same municipality and on October 29, an additional sentinel nucleus (both located approx. 10 km northward to the previous one) was confirmed positive for Small Hive Beetle infestation. In response, a protection zone of 20 km radius was established around the initial outbreak site with restricted movements in and out of the area. Surveillance efforts have been intensified within the protection zone and across the rest of Sicily and are ongoing.
Figure 1. The surveillance activity of A. tumida infestation in Sicily (as of October 29 2024). Please click on the figure to access the map with a higher resolution.
In the mainland, as of October 29 2024, six apiaries and six sentinel nuclei within the protection zone (30 km radius) in the Province of Reggio Calabria were found to be infested (Figures 2 & 3), with detections occurring between late January and June. Among the affected apiaries, two were confirmed positive on two separate occasions over the season. Only adult beetles were detected in these cases.
Figure 2. The 30 km protection zone for monitoring A. tumida in Calabria (as of October 29 2024). Please click on the figure to access the map with a higher resolution.
Figure 3. The surveillance carried out for A. tumida in Calabria and Sicily regions (as of October 29 2024). Please click on the figure to access the map with a higher resolution.