OpenFields

827: Honey bees

This paper is taken from a National Farmers Union briefing

Year of Publication2009

Honey bees are important pollinators of farm crops but the number of beehives is declining and there has been a range of bee health problems. The 2008 UK honey harvest was more than 50% down on normal levels. The Varroa mite is the main problem because in addition to direct damage it also vectors secondary pathogens. Wild honey bee populations in the UK have been wiped out by pests and disease so all the honey bee pollination activity is undertaken by managed bees. There is a risk that the money set aside for bee research will be targeted more widely. There is no evidence that pesticides have poisoned honey bees.

This item is categorised as follows

• Subject Collection > Livestock & dairy > Minority species as livestock
• Subject Collection > Arable & industrial crops

Additional keywords/tags

bees varroa pollination