Guidelines on Importation of Queen and Escort Bees

Legal basis and referenced instruments

The order is issued pursuant to Executive Order No. 292 (1987), Section 5, and Act No. 3639 (Animal Quarantine Act of 1929).
The order is issued pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 1433, known as the Plant Quarantine Decree of 1978, including its plant quarantine authority.
The order is issued pursuant to DA-Administrative Order No. 09, Series of 2010.
The order is consistent with the Terrestrial Code of the Office International des Epizooties/World Organization for Animal Health (OIE).

Policy and purpose

The order establishes guidelines for the strict compliance of all requirements for the importation of queen and escort bees to protect animal and plant life/health and to control quarantine-significant diseases and pests.

Definitions and core terms

“Acarapis woodi” refers to tracheal mites that infest the tracheal system of bees.
“Accredited microbiologist” refers to a person who has passed an examination by the Philippine Academy of Microbiologist and has conducted and published papers on bee pathology.
“Aethina tumida” refers to a small hive beetle infesting honey bee populations (Apis mellifera and Apis cerana) and bumble bee colonies (Bombus terrestris), and also infesting tropical fruits.
“Africanized honey bee” refers to a hybrid strain of Apis mellifera introduced into Brazil in the mid-1950s, distinguished by aggressive traits including mass swarming and frequent stinging.
“American foulbrood (AFB)” is a disease of larval and pupal stages of Apis mellifera and other Apis spp., caused by Paenibacillus larvae.
“Animal” refers to vertebrate and invertebrate species, domestic or wild, including bees and butterflies, and excludes human and non-mammalian aquatic species.
“Apiculture” is the art and science of raising bees.
“Approved” means officially approved, accredited, or registered by the Bureau of Animal Industry.
“Backyard / hobbyist beekeeper” refers to one who keeps bees for pleasure or below 200 colonies, with occasional income.
“Commercial beekeeper” refers to one who operates at least 200 colonies of Apis mellifera such that his entire time is devoted to beekeeping.
“Carrier” includes any sort of craft or artificial contrivance used and capable of being used for transportation in land, water, or air.
“Colony” means an aggregate of worker bees, drones, and a queen bee living together in a hive or other dwelling as one social unit.
“Competent authority” is the BAI, mandated by law to ensure and supervise implementation of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures or other standard codes.
“Disinfection” is the cleansing of beekeeping tools and related equipment and facilities to destroy infectious and parasitic agents of bee diseases using chemicals or irradiation.
“Escort bees” are bees that accompany the queen bee in the cage, including nurse bees.
“Nucleus Colony” or “nuc” is a smaller hive consisting of bees in all developmental stages, food, a laying queen, and enough workers to cover three to five combs.
“NVQSD” (National Veterinary Quarantine Services Division) is a BAI division mandated to prevent and control entry of dangerous and communicable animal diseases and to govern transport/shipment of animals, animal products/by-products, meat/meat products/by-products, and other animal-origin products for agricultural or industrial use.
“Sanitary and Phytosanitary Import Clearance (SPSIC)” is the document issued prior to importation by the BAI to ensure imports meet standards protecting human, animal, and plant life/health, ensuring safety for consumers and preventing spread of pests/diseases; it also prescribes conditions for maintaining quality and suitability.
“Veterinary health certificate” is a veterinary health certificate issued by the Government Veterinary Authority of the exporting country.
“Zone/region” means a clearly defined part of territory containing an animal subpopulation with a distinct health status for a specific disease, with surveillance, control, and biosecurity measures applied for international trade.
“Tobacco ring spot virus (TRSV)” is a plant pathogenic virus that can infect and replicate in honey bees.
“Worker bees” are sexually undeveloped female bees.

Coverage: persons and importation coverage

The order governs importation of queen bees and escort bees into the country.
Importation may be allowed only if the queen bees are verified to be free from maladies of quarantine significance under the order (Section 2).
Only Apis mellifera queen and escort bees are allowed to be imported (Section 9).
Importation is limited operationally by requiring BAI control through SPSIC and port/quarantine procedures (Sections 5, 6, 9–12).
Commercial beekeepers and hobbyists intending to import queen and escort bees must apply for BAI accreditation (Section 4).
Queen bee importers include BAI-recognized institutional or individual who brings queen bees into the country (definition).

Importation authority, permits, and documentation

Any person intending to import or bring into the country live queen must file an application with the BAI through the DA Trade System for the SPSIC, accomplished online (Section 5).
BAI, upon approval of the DA Secretary, issues the SPS Import Clearance (SPSIC) only after determining that the importation complies with the order (Section 6).
The order requires BAI approval and SPSIC issuance before importation (Sections 5–7).
Registration of commercial beekeepers/apiaries is required with the BAI by submitting: (1) name, address, and description of the apiary; (2) letter of intent addressed to the BAI Director; (3) Mayor’s Business Permit (certified true copy); (4) DTI or SEC registration (certified true copy), when applicable; and (5) BIR-TIN (certified true copy) (Section 3).
Accreditation as importer requires application submission of: (1) certificate of registration issued by BAI under the order; and (2) BAI certification that the applicant’s bee yard, equipment, and quarantine area have been inspected by an authorized BAI representative immediately after receipt of the application (Section 4).

Substantive importation conditions and shipment controls

Importers must present the corresponding SPSIC and an international veterinary certificate at the quarantine office (Section 9).
Queen bees must not be imported from countries/zone/regions with viral diseases and from countries/zone/regions with known Africanized honey bees (Section 9).
Importation is prohibited for brood combs, nucleus colonies, and packaged bees (Section 9).
The shipment must include a veterinary health certificate issued by the Government Veterinary Authority (GVA) (Section 9).
Imported queen and escort bees must be free from mites (Acarapis spp., Varroa spp., Tropilaelaps spp., and Aethina tumida) and must be free from pathogens causing American foul brood, European foul brood, chalk brood, Nosema, and sacbrood (Section 9).
The shipment must include a Phytosanitary Certificate certifying freedom from pollen-carrying plant pathogens and TRSV (Section 9).
The breeding apiary of origin must be officially approved and controlled by the GVA of the country/zone/region responsible for the application of sanitary measures (Section 9).
Packing material and accompanying products must come directly from the exporting breeding apiary and must not have been in contact with diseased bees or brood combs, or with any products or equipment contaminated or extraneous to the exporting apiary (Section 9).
The port of entry must be Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) only, unless other international airports are equipped and qualified to accept queen and escort bee importation (Section 9).
The exporter must use plastic queen cages during shipment (Section 9).

Port entry, sampling, laboratory analysis, release

Immediately upon arrival, imported products must be turned over to the Competent Authority assigned at the port of entry for sampling (Section 10).
Importers must present to the quarantine office the corresponding SPSIC, international veterinary certificate, and phytosanitary certificate; consignments without required documents face enforcement actions (Section 10).
Consignments without required documents are subject to confiscation and destruction, returned to origin, or shipped to a third country (Section 10).
Escort bees collected from every queen cage must be subjected to analysis by the Competent Authority (Section 10).
During inspection, the importer must provide pertinent documents and escort bees and all queen cage are collected for laboratory analyses (Section 10).
Post-entry sampling requires collecting one sample escort bee in every queen cage for analysis at NVQSD (Section 11).
After appropriate samples are collected, the shipment must be released immediately to the importer if the importer agrees to BAI quarantine importation terms and conditions (Section 11).
BAI-AHWD and NARTDI monitoring team must assess/evaluate performance of the imported queens 1 week after dispersal (Section 11).
Analysis results must be released within 3 to 7 days from arrival (Section 11).
Results are spread in a period of 9 weeks per thousand samples (Section 11).

Enforcement actions, revocation, and sanctions

Imported bees without SPSIC are subject to confiscation and destruction, at the expense of the importer (Section 7).
SPSIC may be revoked if the importer violates any terms and conditions embodied in the order or if the importer provided false or incomplete information relative to the importation (Section 8).
If found after notice and hearing to have given false or incomplete information relative to importation of live honey bees, or found in violation of the order, the importer’s SPSIC is subject to automatic revocation (Section 12).
Any importation made without SPSIC or with a revoked SPSIC is subject to confiscation and destruction (Section 12).
If pathogens and pests are detected, the importer must be notified within 5 calendar days, and the entire queen and escort bees must be destroyed at the expense of the importing parties; no compensation is paid for bees destroyed (Section 11).

Repeal and effectivity

Existing administrative orders, rules, and regulations, or parts thereof, inconsistent with the order are repealed or modified accordingly (Section 13).
The order takes effect fifteen (15) days after publication in two (2) newspapers of general circulation and filing three (3) certified copies with the National Administrative Register, U.P. Law Center (Section 14).