While it is not unusual to see some losses over winter, there are signs of significant losses of bee colonies across the country, which are being investigated with a 'higher priority' by the government.

Without bees, food gets more expensive and some products might disappear altogether as the fruit is not pollinated.
If bee inspectors from the National Bee Unit (NBU) can find no explanation for the loss of a colony, such as poor husbandry or the parasitic mite varroa, samples will be sent to the NBU for priority testing and investigation.

The worst of the problem appears to be in America, where the problem has been labelled Colony Collapse Disorder (CDD), and where bees are so vital in the southern states for pollinating fruit trees and not just for the production of honey.

The pollination of crops by bees is responsible for a third of the food produced in the US and one in every three mouthfuls is said to have been touched by a bee.



It has been estimated that the total bee population of America fell by 30% last year and some beekeepers lost as much as 90%!But other countries, including the UK, are also experiencing serious problems. Half of the bee stock in Denmark succumbed over last winter - and Lincolnshire is no exception.

Local beekeeper Barbara Osorio-McLaren from Newtoft, said there was an 'urgent' need to find out the cause of the phenomenon which is resulting in such a high loss of bees.

"There is the most urgent need to find out the cause of this phenomenon," she said. "Opinions are so varied that it confuses people - some longstanding beekeepers tend to become apathetic to the subject."

The Environment minister Lord Rooker has said honey bees could be 'wiped out in Great Britain within 10 years', but the government has only given £200,000 to research, against the estimated £165 million contribution which bees make to the agricultural economy through the pollination of plants.

"More funds are urgently needed," said Barbara, but the government does insist work is going on and say that in 2007, the cases of high loss seen in the UK had two possible explanations:
1 In many cases the spring losses were linked to inadequate management in relation to the parasitic mite Varroa or to poor husbandry;
2 Laboratory investigation of samples collected from dead or dying colonies in the summer, where there was no immediately obvious explanation, indicated high levels of the parasite Nosema spp coupled with a virus (particularly the chronic bee paralysis virus).

"The position this year may be different given that the wet weather experienced in summer 2007 meant bees were confined to their hives for long periods and were therefore unable to forage for sufficient nectar and pollen to sustain them over winter," said a spokesman for the NBU.

"The poor spring we've experienced also extended the bees confinement. This additional stress is likely to have provided the opportunity for pathogen spread, virus levels to build up and Nosema, where it was present, to have a greater impact."

NBU Inspectors say there is no evidence yet that the losses seen in the UK are mirroring the situation experienced in the US.

"Beekeepers experiencing significant losses are urged to contact their local bee inspector to arrange a visit," he said.

MP Edward Leigh, who has been visited by local beekeepers and has received a number of written representations about this 'major threat to our beekeeping industry', says he will be 'lobbying government to ensure more support is given.'

"The British Beekeepers' Association is very concerned about shortcomings in the government's strategy consultation document. They say more research is needed into diseases which threaten to wipe out our honey bees. Many local beekeepers have suffered higher than usual losses over the winter months," he said.

"Pollination contributes £165 million a year to the agricultural economy. During the next five years the Association is proposing a budget of £8 million from government; during the same period the industry will have contibuted around £800 million to the economy."

it may be that the high losses can be attributed to the poor weather last summer in this country, but that doesn't explain it as a world-wide phenomenon. Clearly urgent action needs to be taken if we are to be able to say in 10 years time - 'And is there honey still for tea?'