American foulbrood (AFB) is a spore-forming bacterial disease of honeybee brood that is notifiable by law in the UK — a beekeeper who suspects it must report it to the National Bee Unit (NBU), and inspectors can order the affected colony destroyed. Spores spread mainly through drifting or robbing bees moving between hives, contaminated equipment, and shared frames or extractors, which is why hive hygiene, spacing and honest movement records matter so much.
AFB spores can remain viable in old comb, hive woodware and honey for over 40 years, which is why destroyed colonies in the UK are traditionally burned rather than simply treated with antibiotics.
A 3D apiary of twenty hives where you control hive hygiene, spacing and inspection frequency to see how American foulbrood spreads by drifting and robbing bees, and how statutory reporting and quarantine zones contain it.
Infected hives seed nearby colonies through carrier particles whose spread probability rises with proximity and poor hygiene. Inspections detect infection, trigger destruction and statutory notification, and an optional quarantine zone sharply cuts onward spread once a case is confirmed.
Set hygiene level, hive spacing, inspection frequency and simulation speed, then click "Trigger outbreak" to seed one infected hive. Watch colours change — yellow healthy, red infected, dark culled — and rotate the scene to inspect the apiary.
American foulbrood is one of the few honeybee diseases that UK law requires beekeepers to report to the National Bee Unit; suspect colonies are quarantined and, if confirmed, destroyed by burning because the bacterial spores are so persistent.