Native bee is given Scottish island refuge
TWO remote Hebridean islands are to become the UK’s first reserve for native honeybees, it has emerged.
There are around 250 species of bee native to Britain but just a single honeybee – Apis mellifera mellifera.
The islands of Colonsay and Oronsay are home to around 50 colonies of the bees and from next year will be protected by law to protect the species from cross-breeding and disease.
The Bee Keeping (Colonsay and Oronsay) Order 2013, which will come into force on January 1, will make it an offence to keep any other honeybees on the islands. The species is hardy enough to cope with the harsh climate of the west coast.
Andrew Abrahams, who has kept bees on Colonsay for 35 years, has campaigned for the islands to be recognised as a sanctuary.
He said: “It’s the Government’s acknowledgement that native bees should be conserved because they are much more suitable to our difficult environment, and the increasingly difficult environment global warming will bring us.”