Honeybees in Britain and throughout the rest of the world are continuously under threat of being wiped out by a number of diseases against which they have no natural defenses. Since winter 2007, there has been a 30% reduction in the population of domestic honeybees due to attack from the varroa destructor mite. The mites can only reproduce within a honeybee colony and they kill the bees in the colony through direct attack or by spreading viruses throughout the hive.

Although to some honeybees may seem insignificant, this cannot be further from the truth. The honeybee plays a vital role within the planet’s eco-system, pollinating 70% of the food that we eat. Bees contribute over £165 million per year to agricultural output, and losses of bees can have very negative consequences, including a decline in plant and animal life. Additionally, honeybees alone contribute nearly £200 million a year to the UK’s economy.

Despite their importance, the UK Government only spent £200,000 in 2007-08 on research into honeybees and how to protect them. Having now realised the extent of the problem, the British Government has pledged around £2 million in funding for bee health and research over five years. Without proper understanding of how the bees are affected by pests and diseases we cannot safeguard them against attack. Here in Scotland, bee farmers run up to a quarter of the UK’s total commercial bee hives, but we only currently have 8 full-time bee inspectors, compared to 37 in England and 9 in Wales. Insufficient funding and support has meant that many of the hives in Scotland are becoming resistant to the treatments available to fight the mites.

In addition to the mite problem, in June 2009 inspectors discovered that a new disease called European Foul Brood was present in a large number of hives in Scotland. This disease is extremely detrimental to hives and could severely affect the £2.25 million honey industry. Under a Scottish Government-funded plan, farmers can voluntarily feed their bees icing sugar that is laced with antibiotics that could help fight the disease.

If nothing is done to help improve the health of Scotland’s honeybee population, the results could be dire. The loss of bees would have a very detrimental effect on many farming industries, especially the soft fruit sector. For example, bees are responsible for 90% of the pollination of apples, which have a market value of over £100 million in the British economy. The value of the bee pollination in the apple industry is a whopping £93.6 million, just for that one industry. Bees also contribute significantly to the pollination of a number of other important areas of British produce, including oilseed rape, strawberries and raspberries.

There are a number of things that you can do to help the bees, such as planting bee-friendly plants in your garden or becoming a beekeeper yourself. The loss of flower-rich habitats such as hedgerows, meadows and grassland, which bees depend on for their food, has increased over the last 70 years, causing yet more danger for the bees. Simply including plants such as sunflowers, lavender, roses and many others can help improve the health of our bees.

But in order to truly understand what is happening to our bees and what we can do to prevent it, we must urge the Government to devote more funding to bee research to make sure that this vital creature is protected. If you would like to learn more about this issue or get involved, please visit the Save Our Bees campaign website at www.saveourbees.org.uk. Additionally, if you would like to sign our petition urging the UK and the Scottish Governments to devote more funding for bee research, please do so below.

Sign our petition

I/we the undersigned call on the UK and Scottish Governments to devote more funding for bee research