Birdwatchers join the hunt for Asian honeyClean-up bees could save endangered hives
bees
A British scientist is hoping to reverse the critical decline of Australia is hoping to prevent the immigration of the Asian
the honey bee by breeding ‘cleaner bees’ to protect hives honey bee (Apis cerana), the natural host of Varroa
from potentially devastating diseases, the Observer reports destructor.
(9 November 2008).
Bird enthusiasts and residents are joining BiosecurityFrancis Ratnieks, the UK’s only professor of apiculture, is
Queensland’s hunt for Asian honey bee nests in theundertaking pioneering research based on a breed of
suburbs of Cairns. Biosecurity Queensland has welcomedworker bee genetically programmed to keep hives clean.
the extra eyes to help locate roosts of the rainbowSo-called ‘hygienic’ bees are responsible for removing dead
bee-eater bird which will, in turn, help track down Asianpupae and larvae from hives, but they only exist in very
honey bee nests and swarms in the city area. small numbers.
Locating rainbow bee-eater roosts is important for twoThe Sussex University academic believes that if more of
reasons. Firstly, it helps to track their flight direction whichthem can be bred artificially, they will protect hives from
is usually to their food source, which may have included aparasites such as the varroa mite which last year killed two
diet of Asian honey bees. Secondly, in the morning thebillion honey bees and wiped out one in three colonies.
pellets of indigestible bee remains that they cough up
His three-year project is being funded privately, partly by overnight are collected. These include bee wings and
leading UK honey brand Rowse Honey, which has warned that entomologists can then determine if Asian honey bees
Britain could run out of home-produced honey by Christmas. (Apis cerana) are present.
The role of ‘hygienic’ bees was first observed in the 1930s
but because only about 10% of hives are ‘hygienic’ and The Secret Life of
within those hives only about 10% of worker bees have the Bees
‘hygienic’ gene, it is difficult to identify which bees to breed
from for the best results. This film opens
nationally in the UKIn every hive the queen can produce up to 2000 eggs a
and Ireland onday, fertilised by as many as 10 males. Ratnieks’ research
5 December 2008. Theconcentrates on breeding queens from the same father line
book on which it isas the most hygienic worker bees. Those queens will then
based has sold morebe supplied to beekeepers. In all the project should take
than five million copiesthree to four years.
worldwide. The novel
‘Hygienic bees have a strong tendency to clean things up, will be in bookstores
removing pupae and larvae if they are dead or dying,’ said everywhere shortly.
Prof Ratnieks, who has been studying bees, ants and wasps
for 25 years. ‘What this hygiene can do is control certain NZ Manuka honey set up a centre to research
types of disease, particularly diseases of the brood like and develop manukaventure
Chalk Brood, American Foul Brood and the varroa mite. honey’s antibacterial
Under a joint venture, the qualities.
‘In the case of varroa mites, the female lays eggs on the honey producers Watson & Te Runanga o Te Rarawa
pupa in its cell. These eggs turn into baby mites. Hygienic Son and Te Runanga o Te says manuka honey
bees can detect this is taking place and they remove the Rarawa are to set up a produced in Northland has
wax cap to the cell and yank out the pupa. So they don’t training college which high levels of bioactive
actually kill the female varroa mite, but they do prevent her hopes to produce 200 compounds. The region has
breeding. It is not a complete control against varroa, but it beekeepers in five years. large areas of manuka
can slow down the reproductive growth, therefore helping The venture also plans to scrub.
beekeepers keep on top of the disease.’
The Bee Farmers’ Association is supporting the project by
helping to test colonies with hygienic queens in 100 hives National Honey Show
across Britain, to see if they are also good at making Draw Results
honey. 1st £100 Mr Steggles
Stuart Bailey, chairman of Rowse Honey, is committing 2nd £50 Tim Jackson
£100,000 to the project. ‘Our money will get the ball
rolling,’ he said, ‘but much more needs to be spent on bee 3rd £50 Mr Hillyer
research. We totally support the British Beekeepers’ 4th £50 Brian Milward
Association campaign for £8 million emergency funding
from Defra over the next five years.’ 5th £50 R Brocklehurst
Bee Craft digital December 2008 Page 25
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