Incidence of American foulbrood infections in feral honey bee colonies in New Zealand

Abstract Samples of forager honey bees ( Apis mellifera L.) taken from the entrances of 109 feral colonies in New Zealand were tested for spores of Bacillus larvae (White), the causative agent of American foulbrood disease. Seven (6.4%) of the colonies tested positive, all with relatively low numbers of spores compared to foragers taken from managed colonies with American foulbrood disease. This suggests that the feral honey bee population in New Zealand may be relatively free of American foulbrood disease and is therefore not a major risk to managed colonies.