[Pollinator] Honey bee collapse could cost country £200 million, say MPs

[ladadams at aol.com]

Honey bee collapse could cost country £200 million, say MPs
The collapse in the bee population is threatening to wipe out hundreds 
of millions of pounds' worth of crops, MPs have warned.

By Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent
Published: 7:00AM BST 14 Jul 2009

 A honey bee Photo: GETTY
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) estimated agriculture could lose 
crops worth £200 million if bees continue to decline.

In a damning report the powerful committee said the Government had not 
done enough to address the problem. Only half of beekeepers are 
registered for regular inspection and funding for honey bees is being 
"diluted" because the money has to be shared with research into other 
insects.

"Honeybees are dying and colonies are being lost at an alarming rate," 
he said. "This is very worrying and not just because the pollination of 
crops by honeybees is worth an estimated £200 million each year to the 
British economy.

"So it is difficult to understand why Defra has taken so little 
interest in the problem up to now."

Honey bees are essential to pollinating more than 10 essential food 
crops in the UK including oilseed rape, apples, pears, runner beans and 
soft fruits like strawberries and raspberries.

However hives have suffered massive losses in the last few years 
largely due to a disease known as varroa mite. Other factors blamed for 
the decline include the loss of habitat like wild fl
ower meadows, 
climate change, pesticide use and a mysterious condition known as 
"Colony Collapse Disorder".

According to the British Beekeepers' Association honey bees in the UK 
declined by 30 per cent over the winter of 2007/08. The figures for 
this year have not been released, but conservationists fear it could be 
just as bad because of disease.

Tim Lovett, President of the British Beekeepers' Association, said the 
collapse in bee numbers will not only affect the honey industry and 
agriculture but the quality of food grown in the UK.

"One third of everything we eat involved bee pollination so there are 
issues of food security and variety of what we eat," he added.

The PAC report also found bovine tuberculosis is costing the country 
£80 million – yet the Government is not doing enough to ensure cattle 
are being regularly tested and the disease is kept under control in 
wild animals like badgers.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said: "Honeybees and other 
pollinators are absolutely vital to producing our food - which is why 
Defra funds the National Bee Unit to provide free advice to beekeepers, 
and why we published a ten-year Healthy Bees plan earlier this year.

"Since the plan was launched, 1,500 new beekeepers have registered with 
BeeBase, the National Bee Unit's beekeeper database.

"In addition to the Healthy Bees plan, Defra is providing financial 
backing for a £10 million research
 initiative into pollinator decline, 
including honey bees, with decisions on projects to be made in the 
coming months."