Beekeeping & Pollinator Resources

Beekeeping in Maryland

Beekeeping is a popular hobby and source of income for beekeepers. There are over 2,300 beekeepers in Maryland that keep roughly 18,700 colonies scattered throughout the state. 

Learn about apiary registration and inspections.

MDA Apiary Program Services

The MDA Apiary Program provides five primary services to help keep honey bees healthy and productive for Maryland agriculture.

1. Technical Assistance. The department’s apiary inspectors work one-on-one with both professional and amateur beekeepers to provide them with the often complicated information they need to maintain healthy hives. Inspectors visit about two-thirds of all apiaries each year and examine colonies for disease and pests.
2. Incident Investigations. The department will investigate any unexplained bee deaths or colony decline upon the request of the beekeeper, professional or amateur. There is no charge for this service to the beekeeper. 
3. Disease Inspections. Apiary inspectors inspect and survey various habitats to identify diseases, parasitic mites and other pests that can damage or even destroy bee colonies. This includes inspections to detect American foulbrood, one of the most series diseases that can destroy a colony. The department may issue a quarantine or order treatment or destruction of any infected colony or bee equipment known to have an infectious bee disease.
4. Permits. To maintain honey bee health, the department approves the movement of honey bee colonies moving in and out of the state. During FY 2015, the department issued permits for 3,684 honey bee colonies to move into Maryland, primarily for overwintering. Another 2,500 colonies were transported out of Maryland. About 1,500 went to California during the winter to help with almond pollination. The frequent movement of bee colonies for pollination services adds considerable stress to the hive and can be a factor in seemingly unexplained hive loss.
5. Beekeeping Industry Promotion. Apiary inspectors work with beekeeping clubs statewide to promote the hobby and assist in educating their members and the community about bee culture.

The department also:

• Sets traps and monitors for Africanized Honey Bees at marine terminals and other shipping locations around the state every year. Africanized Honey Bees are the aggressive swarms of bees that most people see in movies and pose a potential threat to humans and livestock. 
• Participated in the USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service’s National Honey Bee Survey, which is designed to document which bee diseases, parasites, and pests are present. 

Protecting Pollinators

​Pollinator efforts are extremely important to Maryland agriculture. Every third bite of food we eat can be attributed to these beneficial organisms. Pollinators are in need of our help as there are many factors affecting their health. Habitat loss, loss of forage, parasites and disease, and pesticides are just some of the issues our pollinators are facing.

Learn about pollinator protection in Maryland and ways you can help.

Contact

Contact the Apiary Program at (410) 841-5920, [email protected]​, or [email protected]