The NBU consists of around 60 field-based Bee Inspectors and staff based in Sand Hutton, North Yorkshire.
[1] In the 1950s, Bee Health was the responsibility of the National Agricultural Advisory Service (NAAS), with units in Harpenden and Trawsgoed.
The NBU joined the Central Science Laboratory in 1991 and relocated to Sand Hutton, North Yorkshire in 1996, changing its name to the National Bee Unit.
The unit functions on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (as part of Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) and the Welsh Government) It does not cover Scotland or Northern Ireland.
[2] A programme of research and development underpins the National Bee Unit's work and feeds back through advice to the beekeeping industry and the policy divisions in England and Wales.