British honey bees face extinction

Winnie-the-Pooh & Piglet planting a bee friendly window box

Honey bees are still in trouble – that’s the verdict of a new study from the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA), which has launched a unique ‘Friends of the Honey Bee’ campaign inspired by Winnie-the-Pooh and friends.

The campaign, which has been created in partnership with Egmont Publishing - the publisher of the classic Winnie-the-Pooh stories - aims to publicise the threats to Britain’s honey bee population. The famous characters feature in a newly created ‘bee-friendly’ guide that highlights simple and fun activities for families to do together over the summer in the great outdoors to help our honey bees. It is available in print as part of the BBKA’s ‘Friends of the Honey Bee’ member pack, or free to download from www.friendsofthehoneybee.com.

The BBKA annual study surveyed 900 British beekeepers selected at random, to establish the impact that last winter has had on honey bee colonies. Nationally, colony losses were 14.5% last winter, continuing the declines observed over the last three years. There were regional variations*: the West (-18%), North East (-15.5%) and Eastern regions of England (-14.7%) being the areas that have seen the biggest drops.

This year’s loss rose by over 50% in comparison to last year (9.6% in 2013/14), and despite not being as high as the decline rate in 2012/13 (33.8%), the results show that colony losses remain at an unacceptably high level. Poor and variable weather, bee diseases and pests such as Varroa[i], and starvation due to lack of honey stored in the hive are all suspected to have contributed to the decline – underlining the importance of plenty of good nectar and pollen forage being available for honey bees, throughout the year.

And although three out of five (63%) British adults are aware that honey bees are on the decline and 86% understand the vital part that honey bees play in the health of the environment, two-thirds (67%) have little or no idea of what they can do to help, according to supporting research amongst 2,000 British adults and children**.

To help families understand the part they can play, the new ‘bee –friendly’ guide includes a brand new short story and ten simple activities to support British honey bees - all featuring Winnie-the-Pooh and friends in various parts of England, lovingly drawn by illustrator Mark Burgess, who coloured the original E.H Shepherd black & white art and the latest book ‘Return to the Hundred Acre Wood’.

The consumer research also provided an insight into the next generation’s views about care of the environment. Over four out of five (83%) British children aged 5-10 believe it is important to look after our environment. However less than a quarter (22%) of children are aware of any steps they could take in order to help save the honey bees – although three quarters (76%) would like to help if they were told the honey bee was struggling to survive.

David Aston, President of The British Beekeepers Association says: “While many people are aware of the plight of the honey bee, there are many that don’t know what they can do to help. We hope that by supporting our ‘Friends of the Honey Bee’ initiative with the brand new guide inspired by Winnie-the-Pooh, families across the country can get involved, making a practical contribution and supporting bee health research.”

Commenting on the partnership, Nicole Pearson, Associate Publisher from Egmont Publishing said: “Winnie-the-Pooh is famed for his love of honey, so who better to encourage families to get out and about and take part in fun activities that can help support our honey bees. We’re very excited to be working with the BBKA to support such a worthwhile cause.”

For more information on supporting the honey bee and to download the ‘bee-friendly’ guide inspired by Winnie-the-Pooh and friends visit www.friendsofthehoneybee.com