Wait, what? Inspected by whom? How often? Who requires this??
> All honeybee colonies must be registered and inspected for diseases, mites, and Africanized bees. Surveys are conducted for Africanized bees along Delaware’s coastal anchorages and in the Ports of Wilmington and Delaware City. By law, the State Apiarist and state bee inspectors may enter any public or private premises and have access to and from all apiaries or places where bees and bee equipment are kept to inspect them for pests and diseases. The State Apiarist may also declare a quarantine and order the destruction or treatment of hives for serious pest or disease situations.
https://agriculture.delaware.gov/plant-industries/honeybees/
I've got visions of bee inspectors standing there, insisting that this woman burn her house down.
Beekeepers have varroa under control. But the state loves to be able to declare medical emergencies for animals (cull all the chickens!!), including beehives.
Orange production in florida is on the way out, thanks to citrus greening from an introduced pest.
Most problems with beehives are down to old brood comb not getting managed out. Feral bees don't have that problem because they swarm and build a new hive when their old one gets small, and they'll leave altogether (not just split) when the brood comb gets old.
It's all bad management, but God forbid you have a beekeeping hobby, no, you must get inspected and the state apiarist gets to come on your property w/o a warrant and they can burn your hives.
In MA, state bee inspections are optional, but you can request one for free once per year. As a new beekeeper, I found it helpful, as the inspectors were highly knowledgeable and friendly.
I ended up deciding to stop keeping bees after two years. My colony died over the winter, so when I sold my equipment, it was helpful to have an official inspection report saying that my equipment was checked and had no signs of disease except for varroa.