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The creation of a Dad’s Army-style force to protect honey bees from killer diseases was announced by the Government yesterday.

The plan was included in a new package of measures to save the hives of 200 to 300 commercial beekeepers and an estimated 44,000 hobby owners that are under threat from new pests and infections predicted to hit Britain in the next ten years.

Volunteer beekeepers will be enlisted in any future emergencies to help the national team of bee inspectors to track and eradicate new viruses. The recruits will be kitted with safety suits and veiled helmets.

The strategy, announced by Lord Rooker, Food and Farming Minister, coincides with evidence from the British Bee Keepers’ Association that the country has lost 25 to 30 per cent of its bee colonies in the past year as the varroa mite spreads killing millions of bees. There are 274,000 bee colonies; 50 years ago there were more than 400,000. Since 1992 the mite has spread from Devon to cover the whole of the South, the Midlands and East of England. Lancashire and Cumbria are now on the front line as the mite moves north, feeding on larvae and adult bees.

Beekeepers also fear the importation of a disease that has wiped out millions of bees in America. Colony collapse disorder has spread to France, Germany and Italy. Climate change may drive other exotic parasites to Britain. The biggest threats are from the small hive beetle, parasitic brood mites and the Asian hornet.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs set out further action to save the honey bee, Apis mellifera, in a consultation paper. Among the proposals are controls at ports to identify bee smuggling, and more checks for unrefined beeswax; a campaign to persuade beekeepers to sign up to a national database; the maintenance by keepers of records on the movement and location of their bees; tighter controls on honey imports; more training for keepers to identify diseases; and an expansion of the network of “sentinel” hives near ports and airports that alert experts to the arrival of new diseases.

Lord Rooker fears that without emergency measures the honey bee will disappear from Britain within a decade and will threaten the fruit industry. The value of honey bees in crop pollination – mainly apples, pears, raspberries, strawberries, black-currants and blueberries – is estimated at £166 million while the total revenue to beekeepers is £11.3 million from the sale of honey and other products and pollination fees. Bees are also important for pollinating bushes such as hawthorne in hedgerows, which provides food for birds.

The association, which represents 11,000 beekeepers, is calling for £8 million to be allocated for new scientific studies over the next five years.

Martin Smith, its chairman, who owns eight bee colonies in Skelmers-dale, Lancashire, said: “We welcome the Government’s strategy but without cash for research honey bees will not survive . . . One person has lost 23 out of his 24 colonies.”

The enemy

Varroa mite (Varroa destructor). First identified in Britain in 1992, the mites feed on adult bees and spread bee viruses. About 25 to 30 per cent of hives have been wiped out in a year

Small hive beetle (Aethina tumida). Not yet seen in Europe but common in Africa and America. They infest hives and the beetle larvae feed on comb and honey, forcing bees to leave hives

Parasitic brood mite (Tropilaelaps). Not seen in Europe but common in Asia and Middle East. Mites infest hives and feed on the blood of the developing bee. They cause death in the bees or reduce lifespan

Asian hornet (Vespa velutina). Not in Britain but seen in France in 2004. They infest hives in search of larvae to feed young and can decimate a hive in two hours Sources: Defra, British Bee Keepers’ Association

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