North West beekeepers are being urged to attend a free day long seminar organised by the Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) in a bid to reduce the rate of honey bee colony looses.
Up to a third of colonies are being lost every year in the region, with the figure for parts of Cumbria probably nearer 50 per cent.
One of the main culprits is the varroa mite, which first arrived in the UK in 1992 and which carries numerous viruses deadly to honey bees – but participants at the workshop to be held at Fera near York on Saturday (6th March) will hear that better bee keeping can have a dramatic impact in cutting losses.
“Our aim is to help beekeepers understand how they can combat the current range of problems which bees are facing,” says Ian Molyneux, Bee Inspector with Fera for the Northern Region. “We hope that beekeepers who are serious about improving bee health, particularly those who don’t normally come to such events, will attend and discuss the issues and solutions.”
The workshop, which is funded by Defra as part of the Healthy Bees Plan, will be led by beekeepers from the National Bee Unit including Regional and Seasonal Bee Inspectors and Extension and Learning Officers.
There are as many as 20,000 amateur beekeepers across the UK and Defra is trying to make sure that they are aware of the need to alert the National Bee Unit (NBU) to bee health problems and encourage them to register on BeeBase, its database of beekeepers. This will help ensure that new or existing health problems are identified.
Adding extra urgency to the need to raise bee keeping standards is the severe winter weather following three poor summers, which may affect the survival of colonies.
“We know that improving standards of bee keeping will result in fewer colony losses,” says Ian Molyneux, “so I would urge the region’s beekeepers to sign up for this event.”
• Places must be booked in advance by contacting Ian Molyneux on 01204 381 186, or email ian.molyneux@fera.gsi.gov.uk. The event runs from 9.30am to 4.30pm
• Find out more about the National Bee Unit’s Healthy Bees Plan