Flowers and fruit crops facing disaster as disease kills off bees
Pastor Dale Morgan
Flowers and fruit crops facing disaster as disease kills off bees*
By Jasper Copping
Last Updated: 11:25pm BST 31/03/2007
Devastating diseases are killing off vast numbers of bees across the
country, threatening major ecological and economic problems. Honeybee
colonies have been wiped out this winter at twice the usual rate or
worse in some areas.
Honeybee colonies in Britain have been wiped out this winter
Honeybees account for 80pc of all pollination
The losses are the result of either Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a
disease that has already decimated bee populations in the US and parts
of Europe, or a new, resistant form of Varroa destructor, a parasite
that attacks bees.
Experts fear that, because honeybees are responsible for 80 per cent of
all pollination as they collect nectar for the hive, there could be
severe ecological problems with flowers, fruit and crops failing to grow.
The pollination carried out by bees is worth £200 million to Britain's
farmers each year. However, the total contribution by bees to the
economy, including profits made from the sales of food, is up to £1 billion.
In London, about 4,000 hives — two-thirds of the bee colonies in the
capital — are estimated to have died this winter.
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The normal winter mortality rate is about 15 per cent. John Chapple, the
chairman of the London Beekeepers' Association, who has lost the
populations in 30 of his 40 hives, said:"It's frightening. The mortality
rate is the highest in living memory and no one seems to know what's
behind it."
In 23 of Mr Chapple's hives, no trace was left of the bees — a
characteristic commonly associated with CCD. Officers from the National
Bee Unit at the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Defra) in Sand Hutton, near York, are investigating the cause of the
population slump.
They fear that, with many beekeepers yet to check their hives after the
insects' winter quiescence — a form of hibernation — the extent of the
problem may deepen. So far, almost 30 per cent of hives inspected by the
unit have been lost, twice the normal winter loss rate.
In Worcestershire and Hereford, of the 20 hives checked, only one had
survived. In West Sussex, more than 80 per cent of the colonies had been
lost. In Cambridgeshire, the figure was more than 50 per cent.
A spokesman for Defra said:"It is too early in the year to reach any
conclusions. Some individual beekeepers have experienced large losses,
others none. Any beekeeper who has concerns should make contact with the
local bee inspector."
However, a source at the unit said:"People are only just starting to
check their colonies but we are already hearing of losses. We're
concerned. We think the losses are going to be higher." The British
honey production industry provides more than a fifth of annual honey
sales — up to 6,000 tons and is worth between £10 million and £30 millio
n. Last year, Britons consumed more than 34 million jars of honey,
compared with 31 million the year before. A spokesman for Tesco, the
supermarket chain, said it would monitor the situation.
Beekeepers fear that cuts in Defra's funding for bee research — from
£250,000 in 2004 to £180,000 next year — have left them vulnerable. They
plan to meet this month to discuss the new threats.
Tim Lovett, the chairman of the British Beekeepers' Association,
said:"There's been an inexorable decrease in investment in beekeeping
research. The work going on is pretty limited. All this green chat from
the Government is about recycling but there is not half enough being
done for something that actually has a serious role in the environment."
In the 1990s, the honeybee population was badly affected by Varroa
destructor. As well as almost eradicating Britain's wild swarms, many
bee-keepers were put out of business and membership of the BBKA halved
from 16,000 in 1990 to 8,000 a decade later. Chemicals were eventually
developed to treat the condition, leading to a revival in the number of
hives.
Norman Carreck, a beescientist, said:"For 10 years we have been rather
complacent and thought Varroa was easy to deal with. Suddenly we're
finding it isn't as easy as we thought." In the US, 50 per cent of
honeybee colonies have been destroyed by CCD, while hundreds of
thousands have been wiped out in Spain.
Bee-keepers in Poland, Greece, Croatia, Switzerland, Italy and Portugal
have also reported heavy losses. Meanwhile, scientists at universities
in Southampton and Stirling who are concerned about declining numbers of
wild bumblebees — which also aid pollination — are to use dogs to search
for colonies in Scotland and Hertfordshire this year.