Nearly 2 Billion Bees Go Missing
Published Nov 4, 2008
Press Release
Nearly 2 billion bees go missing costing the economy £54 million
Hundreds of beekeepers march to Downing Street on 5th November calling for government action now
Billions of the UK’s bees are dying from unknown causes and the public is demanding to know why.**
One in three of honey bee colonies were lost over the last year. It is feared there is nothing to prevent a repeated loss of two billion bees this winter, leading to another spring in which there will be a reduction in these vital pollinators.
Hundreds of members of the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) from all over the UK will march down Whitehall to deliver a petition to 10 Downing Street signed by more than 140,000 members of the public calling for immediate government action.
The petition calls on the government to increase the paltry £200,000 annually currently spent on bee health research to £1.6 million annually for the next 5 years. This is less than 1% of the £825 million added value provided to the agriculture economy by pollination by bees over the same period.
Tim Lovett, President of the BBKA, said: “The increased funding we are asking for is a drop in the ocean compared to the billions of pounds the government has found for bank bail-outs."
“Bees are probably one of the most economically useful creatures on earth, pollinating a third of all we eat. They provide more than 50% of pollination of wild plants on which birds and mammals depend. We must identify what is killing them, and that means research.”
Dr Dewey Caron, Professor of Entomology at the University of Delaware speaking recently at The National Honey Show in Surrey stated that worldwide calamity of disappearing bees is seen by scientists as ‘the canaries in the cage’, sending out warning signals about the health of the environment.
MEPs on the European Parliament’s agriculture committee too have called on the Commission to introduce ‘bee friendly’ measures in the ongoing reform of the Common Agricultural Policy, as bee health is an issue across the whole of the EU. And the health of the US bees will be one of the problems in the new US President’s in-tray.
NFU Vice President Paul Temple said: “Honey bees are an underpinning component of the British countryside - whether it’s heather moorland, a hedgerow, an orchard or a field of beans."
“Our bee farmers and beekeepers are the custodians of every single honey bee in our countryside, and they are facing devastating bee health problems. To solve these problems we need comprehensive and coordinated research to be undertaken urgently. And one thing is clear, current levels of Government funding are nowhere near enough to support such research.”
Mr Lovett continued: “Without beekeepers to look after them there would be no honey bees in the UK. Despite the best efforts of our members, bees are suffering as the varroa mites who weaken colonies and spread viruses are becoming resistant to treatments to protect them, making them more vulnerable to disease. This is all on top of the bad weather, especially the wet summers, over which we have no control. There is currently no 'magic bullet’ for controlling varroa.”
Rowse Honey, the UK leading honey company, has announced that English beekeepers’ honey will run out in the supermarkets by Christmas and has committed £100,000 to support research into bee health at Sussex University. Other industry groups are expected to help but this does not relieve the Government of its responsibility to provide funding.
The BBKA is encouraged by the interest shown in research funding opportunities by the Wellcome Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council.
Ends
For further press information please contact:
Christine Gray BBKA Press Officer
Tel: 07891 000207/01462 450707
christine.m.grayNOSPAM@btinternet.com (remove NOSPAM if copying and pasting email address)
NOTES TO EDITORS
*Bee losses are based on a large survey by the BBKA which revealed that nearly one in three of the UK’s 274,000 colonies, i.e 90,000 colonies, did not survive this winter and spring, when there would be approximately 20,000 bees in each hive. Each of these 90,000 hives is estimated to contribute £600 annually to the agricultural economy.
The BBKA is a charity set up in 1874. It supports and promotes bees and beekeeping and educates the public of the importance of bees in the environment. Membership through its 60 affiliated associations has increased by 20 per cent over the last 18 months to over 12,500 members.
BEE FACTS AND FIGURES
- In the UK there are approximately 44,000 beekeepers managing around 274,000 hives.
- They produce 6000 tones of honey per year.
- Each hive is worth about £600 to the agricultural economy.
- In the UK, we produce only 20% of the honey we consume - the rest is imported.
- The varroa mite reached the UK in 1992 and now infests 95% of hives. Untreated colonies die in 3-4 years. Even low populations of mites reduce vitality and increases the spread of viruses.
- To collect a pound of honey a bee might have to fly a distance equivalent to twice round the world. This is likely to involve more than 10,000 flower visits on perhaps 500 foraging trips.
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