Mystery as bees vanish
BEE experts are investigating mysterious cases of disappearing swarms across the country.
Beekeepers in England and Wales have found their hives empty and called in the National Bee Unit (NBU), which is run to protect the insects from threats such as disease and environmental damage.
A Government spokeswoman said it was not unusual for bee colonies to become deserted during the spring.
She said: “Any cases of unusually high losses will be investigated in depth by the NBU and bee inspectors. However, it is not unusual for some colonies to be found dead or absent at this time of year.”
But in parts of Sussex, hundreds of thousands of honeybees have reportedly been wiped out by a blood-sucking mite.
Simon Wilks, the London Beekeepers Association’s newsletter editor, said his chairman John Chapple has lost more than 20 of his honeybee hives.