Honeybees and Honeybee Semen From New Zealand

SUMMARY: We are amending the honeybee and honeybee semen regulations to

allow honeybees and honeybee semen from New Zealand to transit the

United States, subject to certain conditions. This action relieves

certain restrictions on the movement of honeybees and honeybee semen

from New Zealand through the United States without presenting a

significant risk of introducing harmful diseases or parasites of

honeybees into the United States.

EFFECTIVE DATE: March 3, 1995.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Mr. James Fons, Operations Officer, Port Operations Staff, Plant

Protection and Quarantine, APHIS, USDA, P.O. Drawer 810, Riverdale, MD

20738. The telephone number for the agency contact will change when

agency offices in Hyattsville, MD, move to Riverdale, MD, during

January or February. Telephone: (301) 436-8295 (Hyattsville); (301)

734-8295 (Riverdale).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

The regulations in 7 CFR part 322 (referred to below as the

regulations) govern the importation into the United States of honeybees

and honeybee semen. These regulations were established pursuant to the

Honeybee Act (7 U.S.C. 281 et seq.). The Honeybee Act was designed to

prevent the movement into the United States of diseases and parasites

harmful to honeybees, and to prevent their spread within the United

States. In addition, the Honeybee Act was designed to prevent the

movement into the United States of undesirable species or subspecies of

honeybees, such as Apis mellifera scutellata, commonly known in the

United States as the African honeybee.

In this regard, 7 U.S.C. 281 provides, in relevant part, that:

(a) IN GENERAL.--The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to

prohibit or restrict the importation or entry of honeybees and

honeybee semen into or through the United States in order to prevent

the introduction and spread of diseases and parasites harmful to

honeybees, the introduction of genetically undesirable germ plasm of

honeybees, or the introduction and spread of undesirable species or

subspecies of honeybees and the semen of honeybees.

Under the regulations, honeybees may be imported into the United

States from New Zealand only by the United States Department of

Agriculture (USDA) and only for experimental or scientific purposes.

Honeybee semen may be imported into the United States from New Zealand

only under a permit issued by the USDA and in accordance with specific

marking and shipping requirements.

On February 6, 1990, we published in the Federal Register (55 FR

3968-3969, Docket No. 89-117) a proposal to amend the regulations by

removing these restrictions on honeybees and honeybee semen imported

into the United States from New Zealand. We believed that the proposal

was warranted because it had been determined that New Zealand was free

of diseases and parasites harmful to honeybees in the United States,

and undesirable species or subspecies of honeybees. This determination

was made based on USDA review of the scientific literature; an ongoing

sampling program of New Zealand honeybees by the USDA; an ongoing

exchange of information between New Zealand and the United States

relating to bee diseases, bee parasites, and undesirable species and

subspecies of honeybees; and a review by USDA of the bee enforcement

program in New Zealand.\1\

\1\Additional information may be obtained by writing to the

person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

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However, we recognized that shipments of honeybees or honeybee

semen from New Zealand could, during transit through countries from

which honeybees and honeybee semen may not be imported into the United

States, come in contact with foreign honeybees that may be diseased. We

therefore proposed to allow honeybees and honeybee semen to be imported

from New Zealand into the United States only if they were shipped to

the United States nonstop and if they were accompanied by a certificate

issued by the New Zealand Department of Agriculture certifying that the

honeybees and honeybee semen were of New Zealand origin. We also

proposed to amend Sec. 322.2 to add a definition for ``certificate of

origin.''

We solicited comments concerning the 1990 proposal for 15 days

ending February 21, 1990. In response to a comment, we published a

notice in the Federal Register on March 2, 1990 (55 FR 7499, Docket No.

90-025), that extended the comment period to April 2, 1990. We received

37 comments by that date. We did not at that time publish a final rule,

but have since determined that we wish to proceed with rulemaking. On

July 18, 1994, we published in the Federal Register (59 FR 36373-36374,

Docket No. 89-117-3) a notice to reopen and extend the comment period

on the proposal to August 17, 1994. We received an additional 20

comments by that date. The comments were from apiaries, queen breeders,

beekeeper associations, State departments of agriculture, and

agriculture departments of foreign governments. Of the total comments

received, 11 were in favor of the proposed rule. The remaining comments

raised objections or concerns, which are discussed below by topic.

Comments Resulting in a Change to the Rule

A number of commenters were concerned about a disorder called half

moon syndrome (HMS) that has been reported in New Zealand honeybee

colonies. Commenters said there are reports that HMS may have been

[[Page 5998]] introduced into Canada from shipments of New Zealand

honeybees.

According to our information, HMS is not known to be present in any

country other than New Zealand. In 1984, ARS researchers visited New

Zealand to study honeybees and honeybee diseases there, and

specifically to study HMS. Field tests conducted in New Zealand by ARS

researchers to determine the communicability of HMS indicated that the

symptoms of the syndrome could not be reproduced in a healthy colony,

even when the healthy colony was given a massive inoculum (a comb

containing larvae with HMS). In laboratory tests, no pathogen or other

causative agent of HMS could be found. Field observations of New

Zealand colonies also showed that symptoms of HMS appeared to clear up

in time without assistance or treatment. Further, ARS has imported

honeybees from New Zealand (50 queens and 20 packages of honeybees from

a variety of sources) under a USDA permit on three occasions over the

past 10 years, and HMS was not observed in any colony. On the basis of

these observations and tests, ARS concluded that HMS is not a highly

communicable disease.

In addition, over the past 5 years, Canada has imported

approximately 80,500 packages of honeybees and 143,350 queens from New

Zealand. When New Zealand honeybees were first imported into Canada,

beekeepers receiving the honeybees were specifically requested to look

for any abnormal developments that resembled HMS in their colonies. One

case was reported, but the presence of the syndrome was never

confirmed. Agriculture Canada continues to allow the importation of New

Zealand honeybees into Canada because they have concluded that if HMS

is present in New Zealand stock, it is not communicable to Canadian

honeybees, or there would be ample evidence of its presence by now.

However, it is true that we do not know what causes HMS, nor do we

know how the syndrome was communicated in those instances where it has

occurred. Also, because we have not found a causative agent of HMS, we

do not know for certain whether or not the syndrome would be

communicable in the varied climates of the United States.

Commenters had other disease concerns regarding New Zealand

honeybees, in addition to HMS. Specifically, commenters cited reports

of a high incidence of chalk-brood disease in New Zealand. Some other

commenters were concerned that a number of diseases that may be present

in New Zealand honeybees, such as chronic paralysis virus, Kashmir bee

virus, melanosis, and Malpighamoeba mellificae, could be introduced

into the State of Hawaii. We also received a comment stating that the

proposal conflicts with a law of the State of Hawaii which prohibits

importation of live honeybees into Hawaii because of disease and pest

concerns. Our reports indicate that chalk-brood and the other diseases

mentioned by commenters are present in New Zealand. These diseases are

also found in U.S. apiaries, but may not be present in every State. In

response to commenters' concerns, we have determined that, because of

lack of information at this time, we cannot be certain that the

introduction or spread of HMS and the other diseases mentioned by

commenters into certain States would not prove harmful to U.S.

honeybees. We plan to continue to research HMS and to conduct surveys

to ascertain the scope of other diseases such as chalk-brood in the

United States, to help us determine whether or not New Zealand

honeybees can safely be imported. We encourage interested persons who

may have information in this regard to share that information with us.

In response to comments, and until we have conducted further

research, we are changing the proposed rule to allow only the transit

of New Zealand honeybees and honeybee semen through the United States

en route to another country, and only in accordance with specific

requirements to help ensure that the New Zealand honeybees do not

escape while in transit through the United States. We believe that

allowing New Zealand honeybees and honeybee semen to transit the United

States will enable New Zealand to ship its honeybees to foreign markets

without posing a significant risk of introducing or spreading harmful

diseases or parasites to apiaries in the United States.

We will require that the honeybees transiting the United States be

contained in cages that are completely enclosed by screens with mesh

fine enough to prevent the honeybees from passing through, and that

each pallet of cages be covered by an escape-proof net that is secured

tightly to the pallet so that no honeybees can escape from underneath

the net. The honeybees will have to be shipped by air through a port

staffed by an inspector.\2\ The honeybees may be transloaded from one

aircraft to another at the port of arrival in the United States,

provided the transloading is done under the supervision of an inspector

and the area used for any storage of the honeybees between flights is

within an enclosed building. These requirements will help ensure that

no honeybees escape from the shipment while in the United States.

Lastly, we will require that, at least 2 days prior to the expected

date of arrival at a port in the United States, the shipper must notify

the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) Officer in

Charge at the port of arrival of the following: The dates of arrival

and departure; the name and address of both the shipper and receiver;

the quantity of queens and the number of cages of package honeybees in

the shipment; and, the name of the airline carrying the shipment.

Notification of arrival will ensure that an inspector is available to

supervise any necessary transloading, and to certify that the shipment

is moving in compliance with the regulations.

\2\For a list of ports staffed by inspectors, contact the Animal

and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and

Quarantine, Port Operations, Permit Unit, 4700 River Road Unit 136,

Riverdale, Maryland 20737-1236.

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Other Comments

Some commenters stated that we do not know whether honeybees from

New Zealand are susceptible to tracheal mite. New Zealand has never

been infested with tracheal mite, and so, commenters said, the

honeybees have not had selection for resistance to these mites. They

believe it would be a disservice to U.S. beekeepers to allow them to

buy stock that is susceptible to tracheal mites.

This comment introduces the question of the quality of New Zealand

honeybees. The Honeybee Act, under which this rule is being issued, is

designed to prevent the movement into the United States of diseases and

parasites harmful to honeybees, and undesirable species or subspecies

of honeybees and their semen. New Zealand honeybees are free from

tracheal mite, and so their importation would not pose a significant

risk of introducing or spreading tracheal mite within the United

States. Further, even though U.S. apiaries have been plagued by

tracheal mite for a number of years, honeybees in the United States are

still susceptible to the mite and there is no research or experience

that indicates honeybees from New Zealand would be more susceptible to

tracheal mites than U.S. honeybees.

A few commenters stated that Canadian beekeepers report a high

incidence of supersedure in New Zealand queens. This comment also

voices a concern about the quality of New Zealand honeybees.

Researchers from USDA's Agricultural Research [[Page 5999]] Service

(ARS) have examined the issue of supersedure in queens from New Zealand

and have concluded that there does not seem to be a genetic reason for

the difficulty. Rather, stress from travelling overseas or damage or

injury to the queens during travel is the likely cause of supersedure

of New Zealand queens. In accordance with the Honeybee Act, our

regulations impose only those restrictions necessary to prevent the

spread of diseases and parasites harmful to honeybees, and undesirable

species or subspecies of honeybees and their semen.

A few commenters asserted that, although ARS may have checked

samples of honeybees from New Zealand, no raw data is available to the

beekeeping community. Commenters were concerned that the sampling

levels may not have been representative of all the honeybees in New

Zealand.

ARS researchers traveled to New Zealand in 1984, where they

conducted both field and laboratory tests and observations to determine

the health status of New Zealand honeybees. To supplement their on-site

studies in New Zealand, ARS imported 50 queens from six different

sources in April, 1985. After one year, the resulting colonies showed

no symptoms of any exotic diseases or parasites. In April, 1987, ARS

imported 10 3-pound packages of honeybees from New Zealand; again,

after one year, the package honeybees were all in good condition with

no signs of any exotic diseases or parasites. In May, 1988, ARS

imported 20 2-pound fibertube packages of honeybees from New Zealand,

which also exhibited no signs of exotic parasites or diseases. In

general, the honeybees imported by ARS arrived in good condition with

very few dead honeybees in the shipping containers.

Many commenters expressed frustration over the embargo Canada and

other major importing countries have placed on U.S. queens. They said

the U.S. queen rearing industry is in financial difficulty because of

shrinking markets, and competition from New Zealand could seriously

hurt it further. We believe it would be unlikely that New Zealand would

provide significant competition to U.S. producers if their honeybees

were imported into the United States. It was determined in the

regulatory flexibility analysis for the proposed rule that the price

disadvantage for New Zealand exporters, combined with the lack of

demand in the United States for New Zealand honeybees, would make it

difficult for New Zealand honeybees to have a significant impact on

U.S. markets. However, under this final rule, honeybees and honeybee

semen from New Zealand will not be imported into the United States, and

therefore, there is no potential impact on U.S. honeybee producers from

competition in the U.S. market.

One commenter said that, while it is true that the mainland United

States does not ship queens until late March or early April, Hawaii

produces and ships queens beginning in February, significantly

overlapping the New Zealand honeybee shipping season. According to our

information, New Zealand queens can be produced from September through

April. New Zealand's September to November queen production is fully

absorbed domestically and by exports to some Middle East and Pacific

Island markets. The February to April production is fully committed to

Canadian markets. That only leaves a production window in December and

January when New Zealand producers would have honeybees available for

U.S. markets. This window would not overlap the Hawaiian season. Even

so, as this final rule will not permit the importation of New Zealand

honeybees into the United States, this rule will have no economic

impact on U.S. producers in Hawaii or any other State.

Finally, one commenter suggested that a system of permits should be

instituted until experience proves that importation of honeybees from

New Zealand is hazard-free. If a problem develops, the honeybees could

then be traced to their location of origin in New Zealand. However, as

set forth above, this final rule will not permit the importation of New

Zealand honeybees into the United States, and will impose strict

precautions to be taken during the honeybees' transit of the United

States. This final rule also requires that shipments of honeybees and

honeybee semen from New Zealand be accompanied by a certificate issued

by the New Zealand Department of Agriculture certifying that the

shipment originated in New Zealand, and the honeybees or honeybee semen

will have to be shipped nonstop to the United States. We believe these

precautions will ensure that the transit of honeybees and honeybee

semen from New Zealand poses no significant threat to U.S. honeybees,

and that, therefore, a permit system appears to be unnecessary.

Miscellaneous

We are making a change to the proposed rule by removing the

proposed definition of ``certificate of origin.'' In order to make the

requirement more clear, we are instead stating in the rule that ``the

honeybees or honeybee semen must be accompanied by a certificate issued

by the New Zealand Department of Agriculture certifying that the

honeybees or honeybee semen were derived in or shipped from an apiary

in New Zealand.''

We are also making two editorial changes to the regulations. The

first removes the footnote in Sec. 322.1 that quotes a part of the

Honeybee Act. Prior to January 1, 1995, the Honeybee Act contained

criteria for determining which countries could be listed in the

regulations as countries from which honeybees or honeybee semen could

be imported into the United States. The Honeybee Act, as amended by the

implementing legislation for the General Agreement on Tariffs and

Trade, no longer contains those criteria and, therefore, no longer

needs to be set forth in the regulations. The second change is to the

Foreign Quarantine Notices, contained in 7 CFR part 319. The

regulations in 7 CFR 319.76-2 refer to the Honeybee Act. Specifically,

footnote 1 in Sec. 319.76-2 states, in part, that ``The Honeybee Act *

* * prohibits the importation into the United States of any live

honeybees of the genus Apis * * *'' We are amending this footnote to

reflect the January 1, 1995, amendments to the Honeybee Act discussed

above.

Executive Order 12866 and Regulatory Flexibility Act

This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12866. The rule

has been determined to be not significant for the purposes of Executive

Order 12866 and, therefore, has not been reviewed by the Office of

Management and Budget.

This final rule allows honeybees and honeybee semen from New

Zealand to transit the United States en route to foreign destinations,

subject to certain conditions. This rule will primarily affect the

package bee and queen industry in New Zealand. Currently, the lack of

economical shipping routes outside the United States for New Zealand

honeybees makes shipments from New Zealand to many foreign destinations

cost prohibitive. The provisions of this rule will provide honeybee

producers in New Zealand with economically feasible access to these

foreign destinations. However, because the honeybees and honeybee semen

will not be imported into the United States, there is no potential

impact on U.S. honeybee producers from competition in the U.S. market.

Under these circumstances, the Administrator of the Animal and

Plant Health Inspection Service has determined that this action will

not [[Page 6000]] have a significant economic impact on a substantial

number of small entities.

Executive Order 12778

This rule has been reviewed under Executive Order 12778, Civil

Justice Reform. This rule: (1) Preempts all State and local laws and

regulations that are inconsistent with this rule; (2) has no

retroactive effect; and (3) does not require administrative proceedings

before parties may file suit in court challenging this rule.

Paperwork Reduction Act

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1980 (44 U.S.C.

3501 et seq.), the information collection or recordkeeping requirements

included in this rule have been approved by the Office of Management

and Budget (OMB) under OMB control number 0579-0072.

List of Subjects

7 CFR Part 319

Bees, Coffee, Cotton, Fruits, Honey, Imports, Incorporation by

reference, Nursery stock, Plant diseases and pests, Quarantine,

Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Rice, Vegetables.

7 CFR Part 322

Bees, Honey, Imports, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Accordingly, 7 CFR parts 319 and 322 are amended as follows:

PART 319--FOREIGN QUARANTINE NOTICES

1. The authority citation for part 319 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 150dd, 150ee, 150ff, 151-167, and 450; 21

U.S.C. 136 and 136a; 7 CFR 2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(c).

Subpart--Exotic Bee Diseases and Parasites

Sec. 319.76 [Amended]

2. In Sec. 319.76-2, footnote 1 is revised to read ``Regulations

regarding the importation of live honeybees of the genus Apis are set

forth in 7 CFR part 322.''.

PART 322--HONEYBEES AND HONEYBEE SEMEN

3. The authority citation for part 322 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 7 U.S.C. 281; 7 CFR 2.17, 2.51, and 371.2(c).

Sec. 322.1 [Amended]

4. Section 322.1 is amended as follows:

a. Footnote 1 and the reference to footnote 1 are removed.

b. In paragraph (c), ``New Zealand'' is removed.

c. Paragraph (e) is redesignated as paragraph (f) and a new

paragraph (e) is added to read as set forth below:

Sec. 322.1 Importation of honeybees and honeybee semen.

* * * * *

(e) Honeybees and honeybee semen from New Zealand may transit the

United States en route to another country under the following

conditions:

(1) The honeybees or honeybee semen must be accompanied by a

certificate issued by the New Zealand Department of Agriculture

certifying that the honeybees or honeybee semen were derived in or

shipped from an apiary in New Zealand;

(2) The honeybees or honeybee semen must be shipped nonstop to the

United States for transit to another country;

(3) The honeybees must be contained in cages that are completely

enclosed by screens with mesh fine enough to prevent the honeybees from

passing through. Each pallet of cages must then be covered by an

escape-proof net that is secured tightly to the pallet so that no

honeybees can escape from underneath the net;

(4) The honeybees must be shipped by air through a port staffed by

an inspector.\1\ The honeybees may be transloaded from one aircraft to

another at the port of arrival in the United States, provided the

transloading is done under the supervision of an inspector and the area

used for any storage of the honeybees between flights is within a

completely enclosed building.

\1\For a list of ports staffed by inspectors, contact the Animal

and Plant Health Inspection Service, Plant Protection and

Quarantine, Port Operations, Permit Unit, 4700 River Road Unit 136,

Riverdale, Maryland 20737-1236.

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(5) At least 2 days prior to the expected date of arrival of

honeybees at a port in the United States, the shipper must notify the

APHIS Officer in Charge at the port of arrival of the following: the

date of arrival and departure; the name and address of both the shipper

and receiver; the quantity of queens and the number of cages of package

honeybees in the shipment; and, the name of the airline carrying the

shipment.

* * * * *

Done in Washington, DC, this 26th day of January 1995.

Terry L. Medley,

Acting Administrator, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service.

[FR Doc. 95-2449 Filed 1-31-95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3410-34-M