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If the UK lost its honey bees the countryside would face devastation, and that is exactly what beekeepers fear could happen.
Imagine a country lane. Hawthorn hedgerow on either
side, clouds scudding overhead, apple blossom drifting gently by, the
only noise the gentle hum of honey bees and the chirping of birds. What
could be a more idyllic vision of British country life?
Then fast forward 10 years.
The hedgerow is deteriorating, the birds are silent, the
orchard is disappearing and the countryside is changed. Why? The hives
are empty. Their once-buzzing occupants mysteriously vanished.
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BEE PROBLEMS
Varroa destructor mite
Tracheal mites
Small hive beetle
Israel acute paralysis virus
European foulbrood
Kashmir bee virus
Deformed wing virus
Dysentery
Pesticide
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Environment and rural affairs minister Lord
Rooker envisaged just such a scenario recently when he warned: "Bee
health is at risk and, frankly, if nothing is done about it, the fact
is the honey bee population could be wiped out in 10 years."
In a few weeks time, Britain's thousands of amateur
beekeepers will face what might be called "Bee-Day". In the south of
England, the weather will be warm enough that apiarists can lift the
tops off their hives for the first time and find out if their colonies
have survived the winter.
And these beekeepers are worried. Every winter some
colonies are lost. But last year saw widespread anecdotal reports of
above average losses, and the enthusiasts fear this year could be
worse.
Blood-sucking killer
Norman Carreck is both entomologist and beekeeper. And he is one of the anxious.
"Last winter a number of very experienced beekeepers lost colonies in very mysterious circumstances."
One change is in the varroa mite, identified by Lord Rooker as the main threat.
The mite, a tiny insect that latches on to bees and
sucks their "blood", arrived in the UK in 1992. Within a few years it
had spread throughout the country and took the wild honey bee
population to the brink of annihilation. Managed hives were also hit
hard.
But having long been kept under control using chemical treatments, there is now a new problem.
"The mites are becoming resistant, there are no good alternatives for treatment," says Carreck.
And as well as varroa, the devil that beekeepers know,
there is another cloud on the horizon. Across the Atlantic US honey
bees are being wiped out in vast numbers by a mysterious condition that
leaves hives empty and deserted.
Amateurs dominate
Scientists are working frantically to identify the cause
of Colony Collapse Disorder, but UK beekeepers fear it could soon
spread to them. One swarm of bees in a ship container would be all it
could potentially take.
"If it did arrive we don't know how to tackle it," says
Ivor Davis, an amateur apiarist in Bristol and former president of the
British Beekeepers Association, which has 11,000 members. "The
government doesn't seem that concerned."
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COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER
Appeared in US in 2006
Reports in parts of Europe
Exact cause unknown
Hives are found empty
Linked to Israeli acute respiratory virus
Stress could be factor
Varroa mite could be involved
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US beekeepers, who make money from taking their bees
from state to state for pollination of commercial crops, have been
replenishing stocks from Australia. But in the UK, which imports the
vast majority of its honey, beekeeping is dominated by amateurs. Many
will not be able to afford repeated purchases of new bees in the event
of the disease arriving.
"If we give up because it is too hard then the country is in trouble - 99% of beekeepers are hobbyists," says Davis.
Beekeepers want the government to contribute more than
the £200,000 it currently spends on research into bee diseases and the
£1.8m it spends on the National Bee Unit and inspections of colonies.
Funding plea
The position of the Department for the Environment, Food
and Rural Affairs is clear. There is no evidence the US disease is
spreading in the UK, and while it liaises with American scientists, it
is awaiting compelling evidence that there should be a big increase in
spending.
But if CCD hasn't spread to the UK yet, why are bees
dying in greater numbers than usual? The answer, according to many
beekeepers, may lie as much with a mixture of erratic unseasonal
weather as it does with disease.
Mild winters are not good for bees, says Carreck. A
sudden warm snap, as experienced in some parts of England at the
weekend can persuade the bees that spring is here, they venture out and
expend energy but find there is no food for them, and then the cold
returns.
Chris Slade, from Maiden Newton in Dorset, has been
keeping bees for 30 years and blames his higher than normal losses on a
phenomenon caused by excessively long summers. But he believes the bees
will adapt to the erratic weather and that concerns over disease are
overstated.
"There is a lot of hyperbole. Beekeeping always goes through periods of prosperity and dearth. People do enjoy a good panic."
But there is no doubt the consequences of a severely depleted honey bee population would be grim.
"Insects are essential for the pollination of a very
large proportion of produce," says Carreck. And of the insects, bees
are key because of the times of the year they are available to spread
pollen.
To take just two examples, the British apple industry
would face devastating consequences if there were no bees, while bird
populations would also suffer.
Urban honey
The prospect of this catastrophic loss of bees has
driven Guardian journalist and beekeeper Alison Benjamin to write her
upcoming book A World Without Bees.
Benjamin, who lives in Battersea, is one of a growing
number of young, urban-dwelling beekeepers. She has five hives, one at
her current flat, one at her old flat, and three at the bottom of her
parents' garden.
"It's about bringing a bit of nature into the city. And
it's argued they produce better honey in the towns than they do in the
countryside."
In the US they are vital to agribusiness with their
owners taking them on a tour of the nation's foodstuffs. First hives
might be taken by truck to Massachusetts, Benjamin says, then on to
Maine for blueberries, then Florida for oranges and California for
almonds.
This constant movement has been blamed for the
prevalence of the varroa mite in the US and other diseases, as stressed
bees come into contact with a plethora of infections.
It is one reason that some believe the UK, which does not have nomadic beekeepers, will not be affected by CCD in the same way.
But at the moment all beekeepers can do is keep their fingers crossed as they wait for their moment of truth on Bee-Day.
The National Geographic channel will broadcast Silence of the Bees at 2200 GMT on Tuesday 12 February.
Finlo Rohrer
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7240456.stm
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