Loss of habitat and diseases are the key causes of honey bee
deaths in the UK, the British Crop
Production Council congress has been told.
Francis Ratnieks, the only professor of apiculture in the
country, claimed that popular issues picked up in the media, such
as pesticides and climate change, were distractions.
The Sussex University
lecturer said, "My focus is on diseases and flowers. It is easy for
the key issues to be submerged under the popular ones put forward
by NGOs."
There was no scientific evidence that correct use of pesticides
had contributed to the decline in honeybee numbers, he said. "They
are not a significant problem in the UK."
Habitat destruction and loss of forage resources were an
under-rated factor in honeybee survival, David Aston from the
British Beekeepers'
Association agreed. "A colony needs around 30-50kg of pollen to
survive," he pointed out.
"Where have all the flowers gone?" asked Prof Ratnieks. "A
healthy colony needs something to eat. Beekeepers can't plant crops
for bee food."
The loss of heather moors and fewer clover leys had been
partially offset by more oilseed rape in the rotation, but
generally there were fewer flowers in the countryside, he said.
His department at Sussex University was hoping to raise £2m to
research honeybee health. So far, donations worth £0.5m had allowed
two of the four projects to begin, he said.
Project one was investigating breeding disease-resistant,
hygienic honeybees, while project two was decoding honeybee "waggle
dances" to pinpoint where bees were foraging during a year.
