Mass Honeybee Death go Unabated in US Hives

Panic in the beehive

Last Updated: Tuesday, 12 February 2008, 10:30 GMT
By Finlo Rohrer
BBC News Magazine


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.

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.

There is a rise in young urban beekeepers, but rural remains the norm

The mite, which latches onto 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."

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 does liaise 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.


Keeping bees involves maintaining defences against disease

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.

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