The contribution of beekeeping to UK horticulture

Transcription

1 The contribution of beekeeping to UK horticulture Tim Lovett President - British Beekeepers Association Associate Parliamentary Food and Health Forum Dec 2008 The BBKA Charity No: Education - Correspondence Courses & Exams Programme Information Leaflets 5M Public Liability Insurance 5M Product Liability Insurance Bee Disease Insurance available BBKA News mailed to members Members Web-Site Events & Shows Spring Convention Telephone Support and Legal Advice Research Support Representation and Lobbying - EU/UK Authorities BBKA: Supporting bees and beekeepers

2 Identification parade Bumble Bee Honey Bee Wasp Bombus terrestris Apis mellifera Vespula vulgaris Beekeeping Traditional skep WBC Hives National Hives Hives have developed over time to enable better husbandry

3 Inside the hive A frame of bees Queen, workers, drones, larvae present Bee castes & their numbers Summer 60, ,000 Workers Queen Drones (21) (15) (24) Winter 10,

4 The queen Lives 3/4 years One mating flight Lays up to 5 x 10 6 in her life 2000 eggs/day > body weight Pheromones (9ODA) - output halves annually Supercedure & Swarming follows Social organisation The Queen Egg laying machine Drones Male sex slaves

5 Social organisation The Queen Egg laying machine Drones Male sex slaves Workers Food producers Cleaners Undertakers Waitresses Wax producers Air conditioners Guards Trainee pilots Foragers nectar, pollen propolis + water The beekeeping year Spring Colony increase queen laying need for pollen and nectar Summer Nectar & pollen gathering swarming colony at max honey harvest Autumn Preparation for winter colony declines stores sealed Winter Inactivity- bees cluster no brood production consume stores

6 Hardworking bees Bee flight 0.5mg honey/km 25g to orbit earth 40mg pay-load pollen & nectar 30,000 round trips per pound of honey Each trip 30 mins But it s not just about honey! Pollination Bees pollinate crops and wild plants 30% of food we eat Increase productivity by up to 100% Key crops Oil Seed Rape Sunflowers Borage Beans Top fruit Soft fruit

7 Beekeeping USA style Migratory beekeepers/ pollinators US pollination bill for almonds 150M exceeds total sales of honey Citrus fruit, top fruit, soft fruit and berries Beekeeping UK Style 25,000 beekeepers in UK 99% amateurs 300 bee farmers UK honey consumption 25,000 tonnes UK output 5,000 tonnes value 12 million 250,000 managed colonies Very little paid pollination Zero wild colonies So the Beekeeper is the guardian of the honey bee

8 The contribution of bees (ADAS) Crop % Role of bees Oil Seed Rape 8 Field bean 8 Broad bean 8 Apple 90 Pear 30 Plum 20 Cherry 10 Raspberry 30 Strawberry 10 Blackcurrant 20 Some more facts & figures Bees contribute 165M to agriculture (ADAS 2007) 250,000 hives in UK Each hive is worth 600+ Defra spends just 1.5 million on bees The EU funds 750K (absorbed by the Treasury) Only 200K goes into research

9 Threats to bees & beekeeping Climate change? GMO s? Litigation Economics Diseases and pests Over Regulation Governomics Defra - lack of research Regulatory Threat Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2005 Bees classed as food producing animals All medicines to be VPOM Cost and practicality nightmare Talks with Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) Criteria (EU) and exemptions (UK) set Key medicines to remain available as GSL Useful substances (e.g. oxalic acid) unlicensed VMD has to take a Nelsonic view

10 Bee diseases need for research Many diseases poorly understood Foul brood ever-present Varroa - endemic and unresolved resistance Viruses vectored by varroa Nosema ceranae in the UK Colony Collapse Disorder not yet? 30% losses Honey crop 50% down Exotic Pests: Small Hive Beetle & Tropilaelaps? - a matter of time Research funding Bees contribute 165 million to economy Defra spends 1.5 on bees inc just 200,000 on research 750,000 comes from EU BBKA proposes 8M over 5 years bees contribute 825M over same period Lord Rooker acknowledged problem and importance of bees but... There s no way more Government money will be found for bee health research BBKA Meeting with Lord Rooker 12 Dec 2007

11 BBKA research campaign Letters to MPs & Defra Ministers Petition Parliamentary Briefing Early Day Motion (110 signatures) Adjournment Debate cross party support Research meetings Industry, farming, environmental support groups Media activity: Press TV Radio Public Petition I the undersigned, call upon HM Government to provide substantially increased funding for beekeeping research in order to safeguard the wellbeing of these important insects in their role as pollinators and in the light of their contribution to agricultural productivity and the environment, given the acknowledged growing threats to honey bee health Result: 140,000 signatures

12 Smokers in Whitehall 5 November Beekepers Petition to No 10 Balance to Defra Petition reaction Hilary Benn: Commons 6 November The beekeepers have raised a serious issue, and I have met Tim Lovett, the head of the British Beekeepers Association. We are spending about 200,000 a year on research already, and we have put an additional 120,000 into looking into the problem this year, along with the Welsh Assembly Government. The National Audit Office is looking at our expenditure on bee health research. We are working with the veterinary medicines directorate to get medicines on the market more quickly in order to help beekeepers. We give a lot of advice through the beekeeping inspectorate, and once we have the benefit of the NAO advice, I intend to respond on what else we might be able to do.

13 Conclusion Bees make a major pollination contribution Bees occupy an important ecological niche Bees are important for food security Beekeeping is under threat Beekeeping ticks the green boxes Research funding must be improved or we may lose our bees and their benefits A final thought If the bee disappeared from the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years left to live Albert Einstein