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A Historic Account of Apothecary in American Apiculture
By: Dr. Tracy Farone
I am so excited that BC has decided to celebrate our great country’s 250th Birthday by crafting a selection of articles to highlight our country’s great history and how apiculture has been intertwined into the tapestry that is the United States of America. With my interest in medicine, I decided to provide a review of various treatment remedies used throughout the history of apiculture. Much like the events that have shaped our country, the history of developing remedies to counter maladies have had its share of challenges, successes, and failures. Studying and learning from this history allows us to move forward, achieving better success and rising to new challenges.
“Medicine” has and does involve many aspects of patient care and interventions, including preventative care, supportive care, immune support, nutrition, environmental management, genetic/reproductive selection, surgery, and the application of chemicals, both natural and synthetically produced. What we currently call “Integrated Pest Management (IPM)” has been historically employed at various levels throughout history. Going forward, we will continue to hone the effectiveness of targeted tools like antibiotics, antifungals, antiparasitics, and vaccines. Employing the multi-layered aspects of IPM remains our most effective tool and strategy in caring for the health of our honey bees today.
Early Evidence to Colonial Times
We know that honey bees have been domesticated for some time, soon after we started to see organized agriculture in society, roughly 10,000-8,000 BC. Early Egyptians are well known to have been beekeepers, and honey bees are mentioned often in the Old Testament of the Bible. At this time, “natural beekeeping” was the only method of keeping bees. Little is known if the ancients tried to medicate their bees for better health. Long before pharmaceuticals, beekeepers simply used honey bees to produce highly desired products like honey and beeswax. Most resources I can find about medicinal use in ancient beekeeping only discuss bee products being used as medicines for humans (honey for wounds for example). (1)
In the 1600s, when honey bees migrated with settlers to what would become the United States, “natural beekeeping” was still the only style of beekeeping available. Beekeepers managed colonies without synthetic chemicals, which were not available at the time. Beekeepers relied on the honey bees to maintain hive cleanliness and perhaps used local plants for pest control. Forage would have been plentiful and disease pressures low, so hive stressors would have been much lower than what we see today. Feral colonies would have naturalized with relative ease. However, some historic reports point to outbreaks likely due to American Foulbrood (AFB), and since many managed colonies were held in skeps or the like, honey extraction may have equaled the destruction of the colony. (1,2,3,4)
1800’s
After our country became an independent nation in 1776, the next century would prove to be a time of technological development in most industries, including apiculture. The understanding of intervention beekeeping practices and honey bee health evolved significantly during the 1800’s. Undoubtedly, the widespread integration of the moveable-frame hive, first officially credited and patented to Lorenzo Langstroth (a Pennsylvania gentleman) in 1851-2, was the most significant advancement in managed honey bee health at that time. Honey bee hives could be inspected for disease and honey extracted without hive damage or destruction. More scientific research on bee behavior, reproduction, and queen rearing, as well as additional inventions, including centrifuged extractors and wax foundation, greatly improved hive management, and bee health practices during this time. These events set the stage for larger scale beekeeping practices to evolve within a time of greatly expanding agricultural development. (1, 2)
Also, near the end of the century, in 1891, the Bee Disease Diagnostic Service of the USDA-ARS Bee Research Laboratory (BRL) in Beltsville, MD began providing disease diagnosis services for beekeepers and other federal and state agencies across the U.S. (5) The best treatment for any disease starts with a proper diagnosis.
1900’s
The 20th century saw more technological change than any previous time in human history, with much of it credited from American innovation. Beekeeping certainly had its milestones in how we address honey bee health during this time.
While likely present for centuries in America, American Foulbrood was first scientifically identified and distinguished from European Foulbrood (EFB) in America in the early 1900’s. To answer Foulbroods’ threat to apiculture, State apiary programs also began in the early 1900s, with Pennsylvania (my state) enacting the first bee laws in 1921 to address bee diseases. Other states followed, establishing their own programs to regulate beekeeping and counter disease. (6)
As early as the 1940’s, antibiotic drugs were used in honey bee hives in an attempt to quell diseases. Sulfa drugs were first used although later abandoned due to persistent residues found in honey and ultimate ineffectiveness. Unfortunately, antibiotic use is ineffective in killing the spores of AFB, so it only masks the disease. Constant use of antibiotics creates resistance in bacteria, kills helpful microbes, and contaminates the environment and our food supply. Midcentury, oxytetracycline was the only FDA-approved antibiotic to “control” American foulbrood. However, antibiotic resistance quickly became an issue with it as well. (4,5) Fumagillin, considered an antibiotic drug, was also on the market in the 1950’s.
*1987… Amongst the era of big hair, Varroa mites were first detected in Wisconsin. This pivotal event has certainly transformed how we manage and treat honey bees. With migratory beekeeping and the bee trade, Varroa spread quickly throughout the continental United States in the 1990’s. Colony losses increased. Feral colonies could no longer thrive in the wild. Several mite treatments emerged in the 1990’s, including Tau-fluvalinate (Apistan) and later Coumaphos (CheckMite). As the new millennium approached, drug resistance, now to antiparasitic drugs, again plagued the industry. (8)
2000’s to Current Times
Y2K came and went but the challenges and treatment responses in beekeeping just kept on coming.
The early 2000’s saw more antibiotic approvals for AFB, including tylosin tartrate in 2005 and lincomycin in 2012. However, a greater awareness and understanding of the lack of effectiveness and consequences of antibiotic use was emerging. AFB while still devastating to the few it affected, is now considered to be an endemic disease in the United States with a low overall incidence. EFB, however, has become more prevalent, keeping the need for possible antibiotic treatment (alongside nutrition and best management practices) on the forefront. (3,5,7)
The 2006-2007 season was a banner year for colony loss and saw the designation of “Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)”. Today we know that CCD was/is not from a single cause but likely explained by the multiple disease and environmental stressors that honey bees face.
In response Varroa treatment products available for use in beekeeping also increased at this time. Beekeepers now had/have a wide variety of treatment options including synthetics like Amitraz ( a commonly used flea and tick drug in veterinary medicine), and organics like formic acid and oxalic acid (OA), and essential oils like thymol and hop oil. Multiple product use throughout the season and rotational use proved to be the most effective in preventing resistance development. Several types of beekeeping practice theories emerged including natural, organic, and conventional. IPM was and is still a predominant recommendation for beekeeping success.
The EPA’s registration of oxalic acid (Api-Bioxal) for use in U.S. hives in 2015 provided for the first time a federally registered, fully legal organic acid treatment. This official registration also added costs to beekeepers legally fighting against Varroa compared to other forms of widely available OA.
January 2017
Honey bees enter the agricultural animal world and veterinary medicine. An FDA mandate with the goal for combating inappropriate antibiotic use and addressing the world-wide threat of antibiotic resistance brought honey bees into the purview of veterinarians, at least for the two diseases of AFB and EFB, and the prescription or VFD for the three antibiotics approved to “treat” them. Oxytetracycline, tylosin, and lincomycin are considered medically important antibiotics because they are used to treat diseases in people and other animals. (3)
Fumagillin was taken off the American market in 2018 due to a manufacturing issue. Fumagillin is not considered to be a medically important antibiotic, so there is no veterinary prescription required to prescribe it in the U.S. Fumagillin is used to treat Nosema, a fungus, with varied success. Fumagillin has been shown to be effective against Nosema apis but not Nosema ceranae. Nosema ceranae may now be shifting to be the more common species affecting honey bees. (9,10). Interestingly, Nosema is currently under debate to be changed to a new genus, Vairimorpha. (11)
New Horizons
The more we look for honey bee viruses the more we find. Currently we have no effective direct treatments for any honey bee virus. We can employ IPM practices to control Varroa and provide the best possible nutritional and immune support to our bees to reduce viral loads.
New mite products and new formulations are coming onto the market. Apivar 2.0, a new formulation, is intended to be less affected by Amitraz resistance. Norroa (Vadescana) is an exciting new product utilizing RNA technology to target and diminish the mites’ reproduction to control Varroa levels. (12) The first honey bee vaccine (for AFB) is in its final approval stage from the USDA for use in honey bee colonies in the U.S. The vaccine is expected to have full licensure in 2027 and more vaccines for a variety of honey bee diseases are in development. (13) Boy, I hope these work!
Emerging threats remain: Tropilaelaps, drug resistance, and poor nutrition are all problems we will have to face. Developing cost effective, targeted diagnostics and targeted therapies against our foes seem to be more and more plausible for the best way forward.
I hope you enjoyed this walk through the past regarding how the apicultural apothecary has evolved within our great nation. I am proud to be free to draft this article in Pennsylvania, once the birth place of the Declaration of Independence (1776), the Constitution (1781), and low taxes (0% income/sales in 1776)… Happy 250th Birthday America!
References
1) https://blythewoodbeecompany.com/blogs/news/the-evolution-of-beekeeping-what-s-changed-and-what-stayed-the-same Accessed May 1, 2026.
2) https://www.planetbee.org/post/the-history-of-beekeeping-in-america-apis-mellifera-comes-to-the-states Accessed May 1, 2026.
3) https://www.fda.gov/animal-veterinary/animal-health-literacy/helping-agricultures-helpful-honey-bees Accessed May 1, 2026.
4) https://americanbeejournal.com/antibiotics-and-the-beekeeper/ Accessed May 1, 2026.
5) Alburaki, M., Abban, S.K., Evans, J.D., Chen, Y. 2024. Occurrence and distribution of two bacterial brood diseases (American and European foulbrood) in US honey bee colonies and resistance to antibiotics from 2015 to 2022. Journal of Apicultural Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2024.2329854.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2024.2329854 https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=410818
6) https://www.pa.gov/agencies/pda/plants-land-water/plant-industry/entomology/apiary-pollinator-services Accessed May 5, 2026.
7) Masood, F., Thebeau, J.M., Cloet, A. et al. Evaluating approved and alternative treatments against an oxytetracycline-resistant bacterium responsible for European foulbrood disease in honey bees. Sci Rep 12, 5906 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-09796-4
8) https://varroavault.com/varroa-mite-history-united-states Accessed May 5, 2026.
9) https://americanbeejournal.com/life-without-fumagilin/ Accessed May 5, 2026.
10) Peirson, M.; Pernal, S.F. A Systematic Review of Fumagillin Field Trials for the Treatment of Nosema Disease in Honeybee Colonies. Insects 2024, 15, 29. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects15010029
11) https://extension.psu.edu/nosema-disease-of-honey-bees Accessed May 6, 2026.
12) https://norroa.com/norroa Accessed May 6, 2026.
13) https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dalan-animal-health-announces-successful-efficacy-trials-for-its-honeybee-vaccine-advancing-toward-full-usda-licensure-302603886.html Accessed May 6, 2026.
https://www.ars.usda.gov/northeast-area/beltsville-md-barc/beltsville-agricultural-research-center/bee-research-laboratory/docs/bee-disease-diagnosis-service/ Accessed May 1, 2026.
https://ia801808.us.archive.org/19/items/093-oertel-history-of-beekeeping-in-the-u.-s./093-Oertel–History%20of%20Beekeeping%20in%20the%20U.S._text.pdf Accessed May 1, 2026.
