The Apiary Section protects honey bees in order to maintain viable populations for the purpose of pollination in Arkansas. Most recently, there were 4,101 active registered beekeepers in the state, with 6,776 active registered apiaries with a total of 62,891 colonies. A total of 11,100 colonies were visited last fiscal year.
Methods
- By equitably administering laws and regulations in order to minimize and slow the spread and negative effects of diseases, harmful pests and unwanted species.
- By educating beekeepers in modern apicultural techniques and the citizens of Arkansas on the importance of honey bees.
Arkansas Apiary Registration Process
- Bee Yard Registration Form: Please download the form to your computer, fill it out, and hit to submit button to return it to [email protected] and [email protected].
- Instructions for Arkansas Bee Yard Registration
- Arkansas Apiary Information Packet
- Apiary Inspections
- Other Laws that Affect Bees and Beekeepers
- Apiary Rules and Regulations
- To request an apiary inspection email [email protected].
Arkansas Honey Bees and Africanized Honey Bees
Benefits of honey bees:
- Provide 80% of the bee pollination required for fruit, vegetables, flowers and seed crops
- Pollinate forage crops such as alfalfa and clover which are fed to dairy and meat animals
- Produce honey, wax and other products
Hives of honey bees managed by beekeepers play an important part in our lives. These bees are necessary for the pollination of many crops. One-third of our diet relies on honey bee pollination.
Efforts taken to control Africanized honey bees must assure the continued maintenance of beekeepers’ hives. If honey bees were eliminated in an area, the wild Africanized honey bees would quickly fill the gap.
People can coexist with the Africanized honey bees by learning about the bee and its habits, supporting beekeeping efforts and taking a few precautions.
Africanized Honey Bees
The Africanized honey bee is a hybrid of one of the several European honey bee subspecies (Apis mellifera mellifera, A.m.carnica, A.m.caucasia, or A.m.linguica) and the African Honey Bee (Apis mellifera scutellata). The hybrid is virtually indistinguishable in the field from the common honey bee. The Africanized honey bee will set up colonies in all the same areas as the European honey bee and will also nest close to or in the ground. The most noticeable difference between the two types of bees is that Africanized honey bees are extremely aggressive in defense of the colony. At any perceived threat, bees can “swarm” out of the colony and attack, stinging in large numbers, sometimes in the hundreds.
The introduction of the Africanized bee into Arkansas has been closely monitored by the placement of traps along the Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana borders. Fifty two traps are currently in Arkansas. Swarm traps are placed in trap lines along the Oklahoma and Louisiana borders, along Africanized Honey Bee (AHB) counties in Arkansas, and in strategic locations. There have been about twenty positive locations verified in Arkansas since 2005. Counties with positive finds include: Miller, Lafayette, Clark, Columbia, Bradley, Nevada, Faulkner, Baxter, Howard and Union counties.
All colored areas were previously quarantined because of Africanized honey bees. Beekeepers should use extreme caution when moving or relocating honey bees in these counties.
Resources
- Africanized Honey Bee Interagency Action Committee
- Africanized Honey Bees In Arkansas Brochure
- Background Information On Africanized Honey Bees
- Emergency Medical Treatment
- How To Avoid Being Stung By Honey Bees
- How To Bee Proof Your Property
- Model Fire Department Response
- Normal And Allergic Reactions To Insect Stings
- Arkansas Beekeeping Classes and Events (through UAEX)
- The Arkansas Beekeepers Year – a Calendar of “To-Do” Items for Beekeepers