• Significant honeybee laws have shaped the keeping of bees today.bees in honecomb image by Stanisa Martinovic from Fotolia.com
  
  Keeping honeybees has been a part of American society since the 17th century. Laws and regulations have kept some bees in and others out of the county. Over the last 100 years, significant laws have shaped the current state of keeping bees in the U.S. Both federal and state regulations also determine how many bees can be kept, if allowed at all.
  
  

1922 Honeybee Act

• The 1922 Honeybee Act closed the borders to bees from other countries. The act was designed to protect American bees from the tracheal mites that were damaging beehives in Europe. It also came around the time of America's isolationist philosophy, which may have extended to even the bees. Before this time, beekeepers had bees from all over the world, including Egypt, Cyprus, Italy and Syria. The act was partially removed in 2004. Bees are now allowed in the U.S. from more counties, but strict regulations are still in place. See section 2 for a complete list of approved countries.
  
  

Federal Beekeeping Requirements

• Federal regulations state that all bees and honeybee germ plasm have to be shipped from an approved location. Adult bees can come from America, Australia, Canada or New Zealand. Germ plasm can come from Australia, Bermuda, Canada, France, Great Britain, New Zealand and Sweden. The honeybees have to be package bees or queens with adults.
  
  Bees must be from one of the following species: bumblebee (Bombus impatiens), bumblebee (Bombus occidentalis), alfalfa leafcutter bee (Megachile rotundata), blue orchard bee (Osmia lignaria) or hornfaced bee (Osmia cornifron).
  
  See Resources for the complete federal information regarding beekeeping.
  
  

Regulations by State

• Depending on your state and county, there may be regulations on the size and location of hives--and on specific safety precautions. Many counties require you to register your hive. Look for detailed regulations and registration forms on the agriculture section of your state and county government websites.