Scientists at Rothamsted Research and Warwick University have been awarded £1 million by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council in partnership with Syngenta, to research the decline of honeybees.
UK government figures suggest bee numbers have fallen by 10-15 per cent over the last two years, while the British Beekeepers’ Association quotes a figure nearer 30 per cent for 2008.
The team will use a combination of field work and computer modelling to look at the bees’ behaviour outside the hive, while looking for food, interacts with what is affecting bees in the hive - factors that have historically been studied separately.
The aim of the project is to build a model that will allow the team to understand how bees may respond to diseases in a changing farmed landscape.
Lead researcher Dr Juliet Osborne said: “Bees living on agricultural landscapes have a lot to deal with. They must respond to sudden changes in availability of food - pollen and nectar - while dealing with a variety of diseases, parasites and other stresses. This project will provide us with a unique insight into how disease and food supply affect the survival of bees in farmed landscapes.”
Dr Peter Campbell of Syngenta said: “Honeybees are important pollinators for many crops, garden and wild flowers. They are essential both for food security and sustainable agriculture and horticulture. This work will substantially improve our understanding of the many factors affecting honeybee health. A main outcome of the project will be a predictive tool that can help beekeepers, farmers and other landscape managers to improve honeybee health.”
In addition to this project, Syngenta has also launched Operation Pollinator, a five-year €1 million (£910,000) programme in seven European countries and the US to boost pollinating insects by providing wildflower strips.
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