Beekeeping is treated as part of animal husbandry under PGS-India, so the general livestock principles apply — with a set of bee-specific requirements on top. These are the rules that decide whether your honey can be certified.
The numbers that define an organic apiary
- 3 kmMaximum radius from the organic farms the apiary serves
- 5 mMinimum distance from a public path or highway
- 1 yearConversion period for reared colonies
- NoneConversion period for bees in wild, natural conditions
Hive Construction and Materials
- Apiary boxes must be made from untreated wood and not exposed to prohibited substances.
- Hives must be made of natural material, so they don't contaminate the environment or the apiculture products.
- Bee wax for new foundations must come from organic production units.
- Only natural products — propolis, wax and plant oils — may be used in the hives.
- Queen bees are to be sourced from organic apiaries.
Where the Apiary May Stand
Apiaries must be placed within a radius of 3 km from the organic farms. That condition does not apply when the farms are not in flowering stage, or when the hives are dormant — the rule exists to control what the bees actually forage on.
Beyond the radius, the siting rules are practical: as close as possible to clean water and bee flora; protected from wind, direct sun, severe heat and cold, rain, wild animals, ants and termites, and from pollution such as insecticides, toxic fumes or poisonous chemicals. An apiary must not be in an unclean area or where bees would cause public nuisance, and must be at least 5 m from a public path or highway.
Colony numbers are capped by forage, not by a fixed figure: the number of colonies in an apiary must be limited to what the forage within the same flight range can support, to avoid overstocking.
The Conversion Period
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period"] A -->|"Reared colonies"| C["1 year conversion"] C --> D["Isolated colonies
organic wax comb"] A -->|"Renovating an
apiary"| E["No conversion
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During conversion, the colonies must be kept in isolation and the foundation comb made from organic wax.
Feeding and Health Care
Artificial feeding is not allowed. The exception is narrow: in dearth or adverse climatic conditions, bees may be fed organic honey or organic sugar for a limited period.
Veterinary medicines and antibiotics must not be used in beekeeping at all, and no repellents made of prohibited substances may be used when working the bees. For pest and disease control and hive disinfection the standard permits a specific list: caustic soda, lactic, oxalic, acetic and formic acids, sulphur, etheric oils, and Bacillus thuringiensis.
Harvesting the Honey
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| When to extract | Only when the combs are sealed by the bees |
| Never extract from | Brood combs |
| After the flow | Clear empty combs of bees; store in supers in a cool, dry, rat-proof enclosure with suitable preservatives against wax moth and other pests |
| Repellents at harvest | Chemical synthetic repellents prohibited — smoke is the only exception |
| Smoke | Never excessive — it taints the flavour of honey or otherwise spoils it |
Migration is allowed: where forage runs out, colonies may be moved to the nearest organic forage from farms or forests, individually or collectively. What matters for certification is that the destination forage is organic — moving hives onto conventional crops defeats the 3 km rule.
Feed and veterinary rules for other livestock are in the 85%/80% feed episode.