Setback in war to save honey-bees

THE FIGHT against a killer mite which wipes out honey-bees could be seriously hampered by closure of an Essex beekeeping unit which serves East Anglia.

The unit, attached to Writtle Agricultural College near Chelmsford, is headed by Essex county bee instructor Clive de Bruyn. The loss of his full-time teaching post would leave England with only two others - in Kent and Gloucestershire - compared with 20 about 15 years ago.

Mr de Bruyn travels the region showing beekeepers how to spot the varroa mite and save their colonies. There are almost 800 beekeepers in Essex alone.

Essex County Council, which ran Writtle College until the beginning of March, has told the college it can no longer afford the annual pounds 30,000 cost of funding the post of county bee instructor.

Under pressure from local beekeepers, it has since agreed to pay pounds 5,000, and another pounds 5,000 will be paid by the governors of the college, who believe that the job is too important to go. The money paid by the college will be met through funds generated by Mr de Bruyn's courses.

'We have asked Essex council for more money, but have to be realistic during a time of cutbacks. We are therefore appealing to charities and trusts to make up the shortfall,' said Mr de Bruyn, whose job is guaranteed until August.

According to the Essex Beekeepers' Association, three-quarters of Britain's beekeepers are amateurs who rely on expert help and advice. Facilities available at Writtle include queen-rearing, hive-making, laboratories and a library.

Jenny Barling, of the Epping Forest branch of the Essex Beekeepers' Association, said an entire colony would be wiped out in three years if the varroa mite was left untreated.

The mite was first discovered in Devon last April. It is believed to have spread to Britain from Russian honey-bees which travelled via Poland and Germany to the English Channel coast.

Despite efforts to control the mite by the Ministry of Agriculture, it has spread throughout 16 counties in southern England.