An outbreak of Aethina tumida (the Small Hive Beetle - SHB) was suspected on 3 June 2026 in the Lazio region in Italy. This is the first outbreak detected in mainland Italy outside Calabria. This case is epidemiologically linked to the circulation of SHB in the province of Vibo Valentia (Calabria) since 2014, following the illegal movement of beehives from that area.

Lazio is a region situated in central-western Italy, approximately 300 km from the northern border of Calabria. On 30 May a beekeeper moved 19 empty hives and a swarm belonging to an elderly relative from Vazzano municipality (Vibo Valentia province, Calabria region) to Gaeta (Latina province, Lazio region). All the material had been placed on a plot of land in the municipality of Gaeta (Pontone locality), in an area where no other apiaries or hives were present.

While managing the swarm to place it in a hive on 31 May, the beekeeper found three adult specimens of A. tumida. One specimen was destroyed and the remaining two were collected and delivered to the competent authority. The infested hive was immediately destroyed by incineration and the bee colony was euthanised and disposed of. As a precautionary measure, all other hives belonging to the same batch, although they contained no bees, were also destroyed.

Following confirmation of the outbreak by morphological examination carried out at the IZS del Lazio e della Toscana (4 June) and at the NRL for honey bee health (5 June) the control and eradication measures required under current legislation were implemented. These measures include, in particular, the establishment of restricted zones and the deployment of epidemiological surveillance in the affected area to prevent any further spread of the pest.

Genetic analysis carried out at the NRL for honey bee health showed that the 987 bp sequence of the cox1 gene, when compared with those available in the GenBank database, exhibited 100% query coverage and 100% sequence identity with the sequence of the first specimen found in Calabria, at Gioia Tauro (Reggio Calabria Province), in 2014 (isolate 1_Cal_It – KT380624.1).

In addition, comparison with the three subsequent sequences, corresponding to isolates from Taurianova (Reggio Calabria Province) (28_It – KT380630.1), San Calogero (Vibo Valentia Province) (42_It – KT380635.1), and Rosarno (Reggio Calabria Province) (54_It – KT380633.1), showed 100% query coverage and 99.90% sequence identity.

Earlier in 2026, an infested apiary was detected on 14 April in Sicily within the existing protection zone. In 2025, 19 outbreaks of SHB infestation were reported in Italy, including three in Calabria (one sentinel nucleus included) and 16 in Sicily.

Written with the participation of the Italian NRL for Honey Bee Health (Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie)

Sources: European Commission (ADIS), WAHIS-OMSA event 7618 of 15 June 2026, and Italian NRL website.