Bees are in crisis, but the region’s interest in beekeeping has never been greater. Joe Willis reports.

PRINCE Charles has joined a growing number of people who claim the honey bee could be extinct within ten years.

Researchers claim the number of bees in the UK fell by up to 15 per cent over the past two years. Experts fear a Europe-wide shortage of bees could soon affect crop pollination.

Scientists have blamed the decline on a range of factors, including mobile phones, disease-spreading mites and global warming.

One bizarre phenomena reported across mainland Europe is known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).

This happens when a hive’s inhabitants suddenly disappear, leaving only queens, eggs and a few immature workers. The missing bees are never found, but are thought to die alone and far from home.

According to reports, the parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives.

CCD is widespread in the United States, and has been reported in Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece – although opinion is divided on whether the mysterious problem will ever occur in the UK.

Although the Government has said bees are just one of many pollinators, ministers have pledged to do more to investigate after admitting the bees shortage has not been a high priority.

But, despite the concerns about the future of the humble honey bee, there appears to be no shortage of people wanting to take up beekeeping as a hobby.

In previous years, Richmond and District Beekeepers’ Association has had to advertise for people to take part in a beekeeping for beginners weekend, held at Foxglove Covert, in Catterick Garrison, but the course is now oversubscribed.

Beekeeper Margaret McCord, of Stanwick, between Richmond and Darlington, is secretary of the association.

She has been keeping bees for the past ten years after inheriting an interest from her grandfather.

Her current swarm was collected from a park in Darlington after she was alerted by police, who have her on a list of known swarm collectors.

She said: “There’s a great deal of interest in beekeeping at the moment – we have more people wanting to take it up than we have bees for.”

Mrs McCord said people had been reading stories about the decline in bee numbers and “wanted to do their bit”.

“We’re in crisis, but we’re always in crisis,” she said.

“It’s always one thing or another – we’re going through a rough patch at the moment.”

She said that CCD was unlikely to affect this country because British beekeepers do not move their bees long distances, as happens elsewhere in the world.

“Half of Richmond Beekeepers’ Association members move their bees up to the heather, but most of us don’t do much moving apart from that,” she said.

Neil Wilmore, of Redmire, near Leyburn, will move his colonies to the moors in August.

Until then, the bees will feed off flowers growing in the valley bottom.

“It will be everything from snowdrops in February to ivy in November,” he said.

“In the next few weeks, it will be dandelions.”

Mr Wilmore said the hobby of beekeeping was difficult to master, but fascinating to learn. “I’ve always been interested in insects since I was a little child,” he said.

“There’s a great deal of theory, but there’s also a lot of practical skills to learn, including getting used to handling bees for a start.”

He said the weather in recent years had not helped the country’s bee populations.

He said cold and wet summers had prevented bees from stocking up on nutrients for the coming winter, with North-East beekeepers seeing their colonies reduce by 30 per cent in the winter before last.

Sandra Kinchin and her husband, Kevin, of Brompton on Swale, both keep bees.

They had both been interested in the hobby, but had not done anything about it until Mr Kinchin picked up an old hive at work.

Mrs Kinchin said: “I knew I wouldn’t get a look in with my husband’s bees, so I got my own.”

A healthy rivalry exists between the couple to see who can produce the most honey.

However, Mrs Kinchin admitted that last year had been a washout, with neither her nor her husband’s bees producing anything.

“There’s so much to discover in beekeeping and it’s been a fantastic experience for us,”

she said.

In previous years, the association has collected signatures at the Dales Festival of Food and Drink for a petition calling for more research to be done into declining bee numbers.

Earlier this year, the Government announced £2m to research the fall in bee numbers.

Last week, this was increased to £10m, with the extra money going to research bodies including the Wellcome Trust, Scottish Government, the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, and the Natural Environment Research Council.

Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, said the research was essential to the future of food and countryside.

“Aristotle identified bees as the most hard-working of insects, and with one in three mouthfuls coming from insect- pollinated crops, we need to support bees and other pollinators,” he said.

“This funding will give some of Britain’s world-class researchers the chance to identify the causes of the decline we’re seeing in bee numbers, and that will help us to take the right action to help.”

Beekeepers hope the belated interest in keeping the nation’s bees buzzing has not come too late.

● A talk on getting started in beekeeping will be given by Richmond and District Beekeepers’ Association in the Farming for Food marquee at the Dales Festival of Food and Drink in Leyburn this bank holiday weekend. An observation hide will give visitors the chance to see inside a bee colony.