Yes, bees are protected under Florida law, but the protection works two different ways depending on the bee. Managed honey bees are regulated as an agricultural resource under Florida Statutes Chapter 586, which means an unlicensed person generally cannot kill a colony for hire and the state controls registration, inspection, and destruction of hives.1Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 586 – Honey Certification and Honeybees Native wild bees are treated as wildlife, and species listed as threatened or endangered by the state or federal government carry their own legal protections.2Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 379.2291 – Endangered and Threatened Species
How Honey Bees Are Protected
Chapter 586, administered by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), treats honey bees as pollinators essential to the state’s citrus, berry, and vegetable crops. Every beekeeper in Florida must register colonies with FDACS and renew annually, with a fee set by rule but capped at $100.3Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 586.045 – Certificates of Registration and Inspection FDACS can inspect apiaries, order the treatment or destruction of diseased colonies, and quarantine infested bees.
The chapter also singles out “unwanted races of honeybees” — the statutory language that covers Africanized honey bees, present in Florida since the 2000s. Introducing them without a special permit, selling them, or concealing an infested colony is prohibited, and FDACS can order destruction of any colony identified as Africanized.4Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 586.02 – Definitions
What You Can and Can’t Do If Bees Are on Your Property
If a colony has moved into your wall, soffit, shed, or yard, Florida law gives you two legal paths, and the one you choose determines who is allowed to do the work.
Live Removal
A beekeeper registered with FDACS can legally remove and relocate a honey bee colony from your structure or property for the purpose of beekeeping. That kind of removal is not classified as pest control, so no pest control license is needed. The registered beekeeper can use foam, soapy water, pheromone lures, and glue boards during the removal.5Cornell Law Institute. Florida Administrative Code 5E-14.151 – Removal and Relocation of Bees
Eradication
If the goal is to kill the colony rather than relocate it, the work is pest control under Chapter 482 and must be performed by a licensed pest control operator.6Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 482.021 – Definitions FDACS has stated plainly that it is not illegal for a licensed pest control company to eradicate a nuisance honey bee colony, but an unlicensed person cannot legally do that work for hire.7Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Honey Bee Removal or Eradication in Florida
The bright line in the administrative rule: if the person removing bees from a structure is not a registered beekeeper, the work is pest control regardless of whether the bees live or die. Registration with FDACS is what triggers the beekeeping exemption.5Cornell Law Institute. Florida Administrative Code 5E-14.151 – Removal and Relocation of Bees For a homeowner, that usually means hiring one or the other. Spraying a hive yourself with store-bought insecticide sits in a gray zone the statute is really written to catch when it happens for hire or at scale.
Native and Federally Protected Bees
Florida has more than 300 species of native bees, including bumblebees, carpenter bees, and sweat bees. None of them fall under Chapter 586, which applies only to managed honey bees. They are covered instead by Florida’s wildlife conservation law, which defines “fish and wildlife” broadly enough to include arthropods and invertebrates and gives the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) authority to list bee species as threatened or endangered.2Florida Senate. Florida Statutes 379.2291 – Endangered and Threatened Species
Twenty-five bee species are identified as Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Florida’s State Wildlife Action Plan. The blue calamintha bee, found only in central Florida scrub habitats, has been under federal review since a 2015 Endangered Species Act petition.8U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. ECOS Environmental Conservation Online System – Blue Calamintha Bee
Federally, the Endangered Species Act currently lists two bumble bee species as endangered: the rusty patched bumble bee and Franklin’s bumble bee. Neither is known to occur in Florida, but a proposed nationwide conservation agreement covers 11 bumble bee species total, nine of them at-risk.9U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Proposed Nationwide Conservation Benefit Agreement for Bumble Bees Harming a species that is listed under state or federal law can trigger penalties under those statutes, separate from anything in Chapter 586.
Can Your City or HOA Regulate Beekeeping?
Cities and counties cannot. Florida preempts local governments from regulating registered managed honey bee colonies — the authority to regulate, inspect, and permit them belongs exclusively to FDACS, and local ordinances to the contrary are unenforceable.10Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 586.10 – Powers and Duties of Department; Preemption of Local Government Ordinances A homeowners association is different. HOA covenants are private contracts, not government ordinances, and they can still restrict or prohibit beekeeping on properties they cover.
Penalties for Breaking the Honey Bee Rules
A first violation of Chapter 586 is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,000. A second or subsequent offense is a third-degree felony, punishable by up to five years in prison.11Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 586.15 – Penalty for Violation
FDACS can also impose administrative fines, with or without criminal charges, and can suspend or revoke a beekeeper’s registration. Failure to pay an administrative fine on time can lead to suspension or revocation without a further hearing and an additional $100-per-day penalty until the beekeeper complies.11Online Sunshine. Florida Statutes 586.15 – Penalty for Violation
These penalties cover operating an unregistered apiary, introducing unwanted races of honey bees, concealing information about an infested colony, hiring an unlicensed person to kill a colony, or refusing to comply with a department order to treat or destroy infected equipment. The jump from misdemeanor to felony on repeat offenses reflects how seriously the state treats threats to its beekeeping industry.