What's happening to the honeybee?

Honeybees are responsible for pollinating a third of our food

A sharp decline in the honeybee population is causing concern amongst environmentalists and beekeepers in the UK and further afield.

This tiny insect is responsible for pollinating a third of our food, which contributes around £200 million to the UK economy every year.

Experts say honeybees are currently dying in their millions and, it seems, no-one knows why. During the winter of 2008 around one third of all hives in this country were lost.

A film called Vanishing of the Bees has just been released in UK cinemas. The documentary took more than two years to film across the United States, Europe and Australia.

It is usually possible in a good spring and summer to build colonies back up

It aims to offer tangible solutions as well as inspiring audiences to make changes for the benefit of the planet.

One theory it explores is that pesticides may be a cause of the decline in the bee population.

Dr Mike Rowbottom from Harrogate and Ripon Beekeepers' Association says it is not unusual for some hives to be lost over the winter but it is usually possible, in a good spring and summer, to build colonies back up.

He believes the weather in the summer months over the past three years is a major contributory factor:

"New queens have not been able to mate satisfactorily. They mate with drones (the male bees) up in the air and as a result of the poor weather are not producing enough new worker bees.

"The poor weather also prevents the bees from foraging for nectar and pollen. This reduction in food supplies causes the queen bees to lay fewer eggs, again resulting in fewer worker bees being produced."

A film called Vanishing of the Bees has just been released in UK cinemas

One problem identified by Dr Rowbottom is virus diseases associated with the varroa mite which could account for some of the losses during winter months.

He says: "Poor weather towards the end of the summer means that the bees will not be able to build up adequate stores of honey and pollen to keep them alive during the winter.

"This, combined with the lower numbers of bees and the effects of the virus diseases, may be resulting in the increased winter losses."