# Nosemosis Prevention and Control
## 2 Prevention Methods: Good Beekeeping Practices and Biosecurity Measures  
Good Beekeeping Practices (GBPs) are those integrative activities that beekeepers apply for on-apiary production to attain optimal health for humans, honey bees and the environment [36]. Biosecurity Measures in Beekeeping (BMBs) are all those operational activities implemented by the beekeepers to reduce the risk of introduction and spread of specific honey bee disease agents [37]. The application of the GBPs together with the BMBs, therefore, have a positive effect on colony health and on society in general and at the same time guarantee high production standards [38]. These specific actions should be implemented by beekeepers at the apiary level, with the support of veterinarians or other specialized practitioners, when needed. Starting from a previous study of the BPRACTICES consortium, a GBPs and BMBs list for Nosemosis prevention has been identified, taking into consideration the OIE and FAO documentation [38] and similar previous works [39]. The list of the good practices and measures to adopt for _Nosema_ spp. can be found in Table 1 and in Boxes 1-3. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l} \hline Buy queens from breeders with stocks free of _Nosema_ spp. \\ \hline Prevent pollution of artificial water sources with faeces or drowned or dead bees. \\ \hline Remove and destroy combs with signs of dysentery. \\ \hline Take samples of forager honey bees (or powder sugar or hive debris) early in autumn or spring \\ for laboratory analysis to diagnose Nosemosis (microscopic examination and PCR). \\ \hline Adopt a proper pathogen (e.g., _V. destructor_) control, to ensure a proper balance in the \\ composition of the bee colony (equilibrium of nurse-forager bees). \\ \hline Treat the colony if percentages of infected bees are higher than 40\%, if there are any \\ registered/permitted products in your country against Nosema. \\ \hline Strengthen and stimulate the colonies in autumn and spring with the administration of stimulant \\ integrators or feed supplements. \\ \hline Do not reuse combs originating from depopulated or collapsed hives, \\ \hline Select and breed Nosema-resistant honey bees \\ \hline Strengthen and stimulate the colonies in autumn and spring with the administration of stimulant \\ integrators composed by vegetal substances/molasses or vitamin integrators. \\ \hline Disinfect beekeeping tools and equipment between uses: torching (_Nosema ceranae_ spores are \\ inactivated over 60 \({}^{\circ}\)C); gamma irradiation; fumigation of combs with glacial acetic acid, sodium hydroxide 5\% (caustic soda); sodium hypochlorite 0.5\% (bleach) and ammonium hydroxide 1.65\% (ammonia solution). \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Good Beekeeping Practices (GBPs) and Biosafety Measures in Beekeeping (BMBs) for _Nosema_ spp. **Box 1. ** Queen renewal. A very effective method to control _N. cernae_ in field conditions is the queen's replacement, as demonstrated by [40]. Indeed, this biotechnical management is a basic agricultural practice because of the crucial role of the queen in the renewal of the bee population and consequently to replace the bees lost due to the infection, keeping the colony homeostasis. Young queens have a greater egg laying potential, and they produce a higher proportion of uninfected newly hatched bees to compensate for adult bee losses. To prove it, the authors developed a field study to determine the effect of induced queen replacement on Nosema infections in honey bee colonies, focusing on the measurement of colony strength and honey production. Queen replacement resulted in a remarkable decrease in the rates of Nosema infection, comparable with that induced by fumagillin treatment. Similar observations were made also by [41], who observed that the infection consequences worsen when the age of the queen increases  
**Box 2. ** Nosema-resistant bees. In Denmark, honey bee colonies have been selected for the absence of Nosema infections for decades [42].