**1. Introduction**

Honeybees (*Apis mellifera*) and wild bees possess a number of morphological traits that facilitate pollen transport, making bees efficient pollinizers and ensuring the preservation and diversity of agricultural crops and native plant species [1]. However, the continued existence of bees and, by extension, pollinating and honeyproducing activities are under threat by a range of hostile conditions. Pesticide exposure [2, 3] is one such condition, but the acute effects of climate change are among the primary drivers for decreases in and the weakening of beehive populations.

Climate-change phenomena have strongly impacted the viability of ecosystems [4]. Prolonged droughts and high temperatures due to intense heat waves have become, in recent years, determining factors in weakened [5] and decreased [6] beehive populations across Mediterranean climates, including western Australia,

southeastern Africa, central Chile, California, and the Mediterranean basin of Europe. The combination of harsh temperatures and shortened flowering periods, as associated with insufficient water, can result in reductions to fat reserves and overall body mass in bees. This status can translate into fewer pollinating and honey-producing activities [7], as well as an increased incidence of specific diseases affecting honey bees weakened by nutritional deficits [8, 9].

Addressing the aforementioned threats to sustainably preserve the apiculture industry requires compliance with strict international regulations and norms to ensure the quality and safety of export products. Sufficiently monitoring residues in honey and adequately controlling diseases affecting bee health and production are constant preoccupations for apiculturists and exporters worldwide. In this chapter, there will be listed the main issues related to the uses of antibiotics as effective treatment against *Paenibacillus larvae* and the risk of potential resistance effects over health of consumers of bee products focused mainly on honey. Also, the development of alternative strategies to control this disease is discussed briefly.
