Fifth of UK bee colonies killed
Pastor Dale Morgan
Fifth of UK bee colonies killed*
* John Vidal
* The Guardian,
* Friday May 9 2008
British honey bees have been decimated by bad weather, stress and
disease, with more than one in five colonies thought to have been killed
off over the winter, according to the government and the British
Beekeepers' Association.
Annual colony loss figures have doubled in the past four years, from
just over 6% in 2003 to nearly 12% in 2007. With 10% of colonies
inspected so far this year, losses are running at over 21%, approaching
the decline in the US and parts of continental Europe last year.
Tim Lovett, chair of the beekeepers' association, said: "The rate of
loss is important - if it climbs to 25%-30% then we are in serious
trouble; if it were to go up to 60%, then we will be out of beekeeping
in just a few years."
The food and farming minister, Lord Rooker, has said that without
emergency measures the honey bee is likely to disappear from Britain,
threatening the £165m-a-year fruit industry.
The UK has about 240,000 colonies, run by 44,000 mostly amateur keepers.
Yesterday the government said the investigation of bee colony losses
would get higher priority, and keepers with significant losses should
contact a local inspector.
The National Bee Unit said the poor spring had extended the bees'
confinement and the stress had probably let pathogens spread.
In the US, 36% of colonies died last year, largely due to "colony
collapse disorder", thought to be linked to the varroa mite and other
factors. CCD has spread to France, Germany and Italy but has not been
confirmed by government in Britain.