[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 1, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 5997-6000]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-2449]



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 Rules and Regulations
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  Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 21 / Wednesday, February 1, 1995 / 
Rules and Regulations  
[[Page 5997]]

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service

7 CFR Parts 319 and 322

[Docket No. 89-117-4]
RIN 0579-AA37


Honeybees and Honeybee Semen From New Zealand

AGENCY: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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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