Protecting UK Bees: The Animal and Plant Health Inquiry

Richard News

The UK’s biosecurity landscape is undergoing significant transformation, with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) undergoing a multi-billion-pound redevelopment, new sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) checks being introduced for EU imports, and the UK adapting to changes in surveillance, workforce capacity, and skills post-Brexit.

This inquiry aims to provide consistent scrutiny of emerging threats and opportunities related to animal and plant health, producing targeted reports on issues such as biosecurity, SPS agreements with the EU, pest and disease impacts on agriculture and forestry, and the government’s ambitious animal welfare commitments.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee’s Inquiry into Animal and Plant Health presents a critical opportunity to address significant threats to UK beekeeping. Honey bees are essential pollinators, and their health is vital to the UK’s environment, agriculture, and biodiversity. Outlined below are key issues, and a few ideas about the way forward, that ought to be considered by the inquiry.

1. Historical Lessons: The Impact of Imported Bees

Imported honey bees have introduced serious exotic pests and diseases to the UK, with devastating consequences for honey bee colonies. Notable examples include:

  • Varroa mite (Varroa destructor): First identified in the UK in 1992, it remains a leading cause of honey bee colony losses.
  • Kashmir bee virus (KBV) and Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV): Both detected in the UK in 2015, these viruses exemplify the risks posed by international trade.

The evidence underscores the need for stricter biosecurity measures to prevent future outbreaks.

2. Current and Emerging Threats

The UK faces imminent risks from exotic pests, particularly:

  • Small hive beetle (Aethina tumida): Already established in southern Italy, this pest poses a severe threat if introduced to the UK.
  • Tropilaelaps mites (Tropilaelaps mercedesae): Recently found in southern Russia and Georgia, these mites could spread via queen imports and hive movements across Europe.

Experience shows that by the time a pest is detected, it is often too late to prevent its spread. Updated risk assessments and robust preventive measures are essential.

3. Risks from Imported Honey Bees

Imported bees can also introduce exotic variants of existing diseases, such as chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV), or may be more vulnerable to local strains of pests and diseases. This creates additional challenges for UK beekeeping.

4. The Case for Locally Adapted Bees

Research consistently shows that locally adapted bees outperform imported strains in survival, health, and resilience:

  • Studies (e.g., Büchler et al., 2014; Meixner et al., 2014) demonstrate that bees adapted to local climates and diseases are more successful.
  • Exotic strains often struggle with the UK’s climate, leading to higher colony losses (Pritchard, 2024).

Supporting local honey bee populations is both a conservation and a practical imperative.

5. Protecting Native Honey Bees

Imports of exotic strains harm native honey bee populations by introducing foreign genetic material, a process known as introgression. This weakens efforts to conserve the UK’s native honey bee, Apis mellifera mellifera. However, evidence suggests that introgression can reduce over time if imports cease (Buswell, 2022).

Stopping imports of exotic bees is essential for safeguarding native genetic diversity.

6. Rethinking the Drive for Imports

The commercial appeal of exotic honey bees is based on their lower cost and perceived advantages in honey production, docility, or pollination. However, objective evidence supporting their superiority is lacking (Pritchard, 2024). Locally adapted strains are better suited to UK conditions, reducing the need for imports.

7. Strengthening UK Queen Rearing

The risks associated with imports could be mitigated by increasing the production of locally adapted queens. Investments in education, training, and incentives through the Healthy Bees Plan would enable UK beekeepers to breed high-quality queens suited to local conditions, reducing reliance on imports.

How can we change things?

To protect the UK’s honey bee populations and the beekeeping industry, the following actions need to considered:

  1. Implement stricter biosecurity measures to prevent the introduction of exotic pests and diseases.
  2. Update risk assessments for small hive beetle and tropilaelaps mites, reflecting their recent spread in Europe.
  3. Support the conservation of native honey bees by halting imports of exotic strains.
  4. Promote local queen rearing through education, training, and financial incentives under the Healthy Bees Plan.
  5. Raise awareness among beekeepers about the risks of imported bees and the benefits of locally adapted strains.

Only by addressing these issues, can the UK safeguard its honey bee populations, ensuring the resilience of pollinators that underpin the nation’s ecosystems and food security.

References

  • Anderson, H., Cuthbertson, A.G., Marris, G., Wakefield, M. (2010). Pest Risk Analysis (PRA) for the small hive beetle, Aethina tumida (Murray) (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae). Final report of Project PH0510: Development of an evidence-based risk assessment for small hive beetle to provide input for the contingency plan. Food and Environment Research Agency on behalf of UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. 88 pp.
  • Anderson, H., Marris, G. (2012). GB Non-Native Species Risk Analysis: Tropilaelaps spp.: Tropilaelaps clareae and Tropilaelaps mercedesae. Food and Environment Research Agency on behalf of UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. 76 pp.
  • Brandorf, A., Ivoilova, M.M., Yañez, O., Neumann, P., Soroker, V. (2024). First report of established mite populations, Tropilaelaps mercedesae, in Europe. Journal of Apicultural Research. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2024.2343976.
  • Büchler, R., Costa, C., Hatjina, F., Andonov, S., Meixner, M.D., Le Conte, Y., Uzunov, A., Berg, S., Bienkowska, M., Bouga, M., Drazic, M., Dyrba, W., Kryger, P., Panasiuk, B., Pechhacker, H., Petrov, P., Kezic, N., Korpela, S., Wilde, J. (2014). The influence of genetic origin and its interaction with environmental effects on the survival of Apis mellifera L. colonies in Europe. Journal of Apicultural Research, 53(2): 205-214. https://doi.org/10.3896/IBRA.1.53.2.03.
  • Budge, G.E., Pietravalle, S., Brown, M., Laurenson, L., Jones, B., Tomkies, V., Delaplane, K.S. (2015). Pathogens as predictors of honey bee colony strength in England and Wales. PLoS ONE, 10(7): e0133228. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0133228.
  • Budge, G.E., Simcock, N.K., Holder, P.J., Shirley, M.D.F., Brown, M.A., Van Weymers, P.S.M., Evans, D.J., Rushton, S.P. (2020). Chronic bee paralysis as a serious emerging threat to honey bees. Nature Communications, 11, 2164. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15919-0.
  • Buswell, V. (2022). A phenotypic and genomic investigation of the identity and variation in the European dark bee (Apis mellifera mellifera). PhD Thesis, University of Plymouth, UK. 281 pp.
  • Buswell, V.G., Huml, J.V., Ellis, J.S., Brown, A., Knight, M.E. (2024). Whole genome analyses of introgression in British and Irish Apis mellifera mellifera. Journal of Apicultural Research, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2024.2411483.
  • Ellis, J.S., Soland-Reckeweg, G., Buswell, V.G., Huml, J.V., Brown, A., & Knight, M.E. (2018). Introgression in native populations of Apis mellifera mellifera L: implications for conservation. Journal of Insect Conservation, 22(3-4), 377–390. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-018-0067-7.
  • Janashia, I., Uzunov, A., Chen, C., Costa, C., Cilia, G. (2024). First report on Tropilaelaps mercedesae presence in Georgia: the mite is heading westward! Journal of Apicultural Science, 68(2). https://doi.org/10.2478/JAS-2024-0010.
  • Meixner, M.D., Büchler, R., Costa, C., Francis, R.M., Hatjina, F., Kryger, P., Uzunov, A., Carreck, N.L. (2014). Honey bee genotypes and the environment. Journal of Apicultural Research, 53(2): 183-187. https://doi.org/10.3896/IBRA.1.53.2.01.
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  • Pritchard, D. (2024). Genetic priorities for conservation of native honey bees. Northern Bee Books, UK. ISBN: 978-1-1914934-89-6. 404 pp.
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