Honey bees

This year has seen the worst honey crop on record – what's happening to our honey bees?

It's easy to take honey bees for granted, but they are very important for agriculture and the wider countryside. Though they produce delicious honey, the really vital service bees provide is pollination:

• – One in three mouthfuls of what we eat is dependent on bee pollination
• – Some fruit crops like apples, pears and plums, depend up to 90% on bees for pollination
• – For soft fruits like raspberries and strawberries up to 30% is down to bee pollination; for runner beans it's 40%
• – The economic value of crops grown commercially in the UK that benefit from bee pollination is around £120m-£200m per annum. By contrast, the value of honey production in the UK fluctuates between £10-£30m per annum

– Honey bees are in trouble and 2008 saw the worst honey crop on record

Problems for honeybees

The blood sucking mite Varroa arrived in bee colonies in the early 1990s and soon spread across the country. The parasites leave larvae deformed and spread disease.

This infestation of mites devastated wild honey bee colonies, but beekeepers were able to treat the mite in managed hives. Now the Varroa mites have become resistant to the treatments and then a fungus Nosema ceranae added to the problems.

But on the horizon is an even bigger threat, a condition called colony collapse disorder (CCD). No-one really knows the cause but it is thought to be a combination of viruses, stress from working hard over a long season, possible pesticide accumulation, bad weather and disease.

CCD has caused huge losses of colonies in the USA and has been found in parts of Europe but so far it hasn't been detected in the UK.

Honeybee facts

A hive can contain up to 70,000 bees in midsummer. There will be 1 queen, 250 drones, 20,000 female foragers, 30,000 female house-bees, 5,000 to 7,000 eggs, 7,000-11,000 larvae being fed, 16,000 to 24,000 larvae developing into adults in sealed cells

The queen makes mating flight during her early life and stores the sperm from up to 20 drones that she collects on these flights. Drones that mate with her die in the act. She can store the sperm for up to five years

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

What you can do

Buy local honey – it not only has a flavour that reflects local flora but also supports your local beekeepers to cover costs of protecting bees. In the UK there are approximately 44,000 beekeepers looking after around 240,000 hives. The vast majority of beekeepers do it as a hobby and cannot afford.

Plant bee friendly plants – where there are few agricultural crops, honey bees rely upon garden flowers for a diverse diet of nectar and pollen. Go for the allium family, all the mints, beans and flowering herbs. Bees like daisy shaped flowers such as asters and sunflowers, also tall plants- hollyhocks, larkspur and foxgloves.

Protect swarms – Swarming is the natural process by which honey bee colonies increase their numbers. If you see a swarm contact the local authority or the police - they will contact a local beekeeper to collect the swarm. Honey bees in a swarm are usually very gentle and present very little danger. They can be made aggressive if disturbed or sprayed with water. Just leave them alone and wait for a competent beekeeper to arrive.

Become a beekeeper – local beekeeping associations run courses every year to help new people to take up beekeeping, find the equipment they need and a colony of bees. For information visit the British Beekeepers' Association web site.