24 June 2011

English honeybee populations declined by 13.6% over the winter, according to a survey of hives across the country conducted by the British Bee Keepers Association. Experts have expressed concerns that the decline, which was most severe in the North East, where a loss rate of 17.1% was recorded, may have a knock on effect on ‘ecosystem services’, such as plant pollination and reduced honey production.image expired

Martin Smith, the association’s president said, "If this was measured against similar losses in livestock it would be seen as disastrous and there would be great concern on the knock-on impact of food prices."

What makes the decline most puzzling is that a cold winter followed by an early spring, such as the UK experienced this year, usually favours bees. Experts have suggested the parasitic varroa mite may be responsible for the decline along with a lack of nutrition, which means bee colonies would be weaker and more susceptible over winter. However, some blame the use of certain pesticides, which they say affect the nervous system of animals feeding off treated plants.

Neonicotinoids were first used in agriculture in the mid 1990s, when bee populations first went into decline; evidence linking the pesticides to bee deaths has resulted in bans and restrictions on their use in France, Germany, Italy and Slovenia.

The National Bee Unit offered assurances that a link to neonicotinoids remains unproven; a spokesperson told The Guardian on Wednesday, "The UK has a robust system for assessing risks from pesticides and all the evidence shows neonicotinoids do not pose an unacceptable risk when products are used correctly, but we will not hesitate to act if presented with any new evidence."

Keepers plea for bee-friendly planting this year

After publishing its findings, the British Bee Keepers Association launched a plea for UK gardeners to plant nectar-rich plants this summer. Martin Smith elaborated, “It is critical that we don’t allow our honey bees to go hungry. Everyone who gardens, however small their plot, can provide the food desperately needed to feed bees. It is really important there are flowering nectar-rich plants around in August, September and October to provide the nutrition that’s needed so the bees can top up their stores of honey in the hive to see them through winter.”

Polination services ‘at risk’ in Sweden

Scientists from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and the University of Lund, studying bee and red clover species have warned that Sweden’s Pollination services could be at risk due to falling bee numbers. The study found that over 70 years the average seed yield of red clover declined as well as several previously common bee species, among them two species whose numbers fell tenfold.

Riccardo Bommarco, one of the scientists from the Swedish University of Agriculture commented, "It is worrying to see evidence that previously common bumble bee species have become rare and even red-listed. It is possible that such changes in community composition precede extinctions.”