By DAVID DERBYSHIRE

Last updated at 16:30 22 April 2008

Britain faces a home-grown food crisis unless the Government steps in to protect the UK's threatened honey bees, beekeepers said yesterday.

They warned that honey bees - which are critical for pollinating crops as well as producing honey - are under threat from a mysterious disease which is spreading across the world.

Numbers of UK honey bees have been falling for years because of parasites and diseases.

But bee experts fear numbers could be devastated if Britain is hit by Colony Collapse Disorder - a condition which has wiped out bee colonies in America and has reached France and Germany.

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Hives and colonies hit by the condition abruptly lose all their worker bees. Scientists have yet to explain the disorder, although some experts have blamed disease, pollution, pesticides and even GM crops.

The British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA) said new research was essential to ward off the threat.

Earlier this month, ministers revealed plans to protect honey bees in England and Wales.

However, the BBKA yesterday told MPs that there were "substantial shortcomings and omissions" in the 10 year strategy.

It wants the Government to spend £8 million on bee health research over the next five years.

BBKA president Tim Lovett said: "Does the Government want the nation to go without honey on their toast, not have home-grown strawberries to go with cream, and even put their own crusade for the public to eat five portions of fresh fruit and vegetables at risk?

"Food production is now an important issue and bees are central to it.

"We note that the US government immediately invested 80 million dollars (£40m) into research on the condition known as Colony Collapse Disorder, which has devastated their bee colonies, affecting pollination of the apple orchards, the almond and orange crops.

"CCD has not yet crossed the Channel from Europe, but we are urging the Government that it needs to be prepared should this happen. The central plank in that preparation is a better understanding of diseases and that needs research.

"Immediate action needs to be taken to avoid this economic and ecological disaster in the making."

The BBKA says pollination by honey bees contributes £165 million a year to the agricultural economy.

Honey bees play a crucial role in the production of home grown foods on farms, allotments and gardens.

There are between 200-300 commercial beekeepers in the UK and around 44,000 who keep bees purely as a hobby.

In recent years, numbers have been hit by the varroa mite, a pest which has spread to Britain from Asia. The mites feed on bees and make them more vulnerable to disease.

Lord Rooker, minister for sustainable farming and animal health, said: "There are a number of threats to bee health.

"We need to ensure that these can be tackled effectively and that requires a joint approach between Government and other stakeholders, most importantly individual beekeepers."

He added: "Some losses over winter are not unusual, particularly given the weather we've been experiencing last summer and this spring, as well as ongoing problems with varroa. Large scale inexplicable losses are being investigated, and bee inspectors will continue to investigate any others reported."

He said evidence seen by bee inspectors did not suggest the UK was facing the problems reported in America.