BELEAGUERED beekeepers are witnessing an outbreak of a devastating disease that is spreading through Scotland.
European foulbrood – a bacterium that infests bee larvae – has taken hold in Perthshire and Angus, and experts fear Fife and Aberdeenshire are also at risk.
Already about 100 hives have been burned due to infection by the deadly bacteria, which ca
n be spotted by its distinctive rotten-fish smell.
It is the latest problem to beset beekeepers in Scotland, who have already struggled to cope with a series of wet summers, and infestations of varroa mite.
Gavin Ramsay, bee diseases convener for the Scottish Beekeeping Association, said the European foulbrood outbreak was "potentially devastating".
He added that it was the "biggest bee health issue to affect beekeeping in Scotland in recent years".
"It looked like this was going to be a better year, but this has turned that on its head," he said.
The loss of the hives could have a serious impact on the livelihoods of commercial beekeepers, and also on the availability of Scottish honey.
The bacteria, which kill bee larvae by colonising their guts, was first spotted by a commercial beekeeper in Alyth, near Perth, earlier this month. As a result 85 bee hives were burned.
However, Mr Ramsay thinks the disease has probably been present for years and has previously gone undetected.
"The hope was it was an isolated case. In Scotland it's something that appears from time to time every few years," he said. "However, what seems to have happened here is that it has got a grip, at least in the operation of these commercial beekeepers, and they haven't realised it has become widespread."
Inspectors will now check about 5,000 colonies near the infected area in the hope of destroying the bacteria.
In all severe cases the bees are killed and the hive burned. In milder cases the problem can be treated with antibiotics.
Due to the scale of the problem, inspectors will be unable to check all hives before the end of the season.
"It's not going to be possible for the current team of inspectors to get on top of it before the season ends," said Mr Ramsay. "So it's certainly going to be here next year."
Experts are warning beekeepers not to bring their hives into infected areas. They fear it will have spread to commercial hives that have been moved close to heather for the summer in particular.
Heather is also used by amateur beekeepers, meaning their bees could be put at risk.
The disease is spread via contaminated equipment, or by bees that steal honey from hives with colonies weakened by the bacteria.
It can be difficult to spot in early stages, when adults bees are still plentiful enough to clean away the dead larvae.
However, as more larvae die and the colony weakens, the hive becomes littered with dead specimens and the sour, rotting smell is produced.
Nigel Hurst, editor of Scottish Beekeeper magazine, said: "On top of all the other problems this has the potential to be very, very serious.
"It has already affected commercial beekeepers and if the infection is too bad the hives have to be destroyed."
It is not known how European foulbrood first arrived in Scotland. There have been occasional cases since the 1960s.
However, beekeepers are worried that the increased use of bees from overseas could be increasing the susceptibility of disease.
Interest in keeping bees has rocketed in the UK in recent years. As a result, keeping up with the demand for bees has posed difficulties for suppliers, leading to the use of insects from overseas.
