British Black Bees

Sting in the tale as native black bees prove fighting fit

The native honeybee is better equipped to live in our climate

British native honeybees are in better shape than had been feared, a new study shows today.

British black – or dark – honey-bees have retained their purity in the face of foreign invaders and appear to be fighting back against the threat of disease.

Research by the Bee Improvement and Bee Breeders’ Association (Bibba) also showed the insects may be holding on in areas of England where they were thought to be extinct. The Co- operative Group, which funded the study, is to provide £10,000 for a breeding programme to further boost numbers.

The three-year study, based on bees being sent in by keepers, found robust populations in Fife and Argyll & Bute with smaller populations elsewhere in Scotland and the borders.

Other strongholds include Sutherland and the Roseneath peninsula in Argyll – which remains the bee capital of Scotland in part because it has the cool, wet climate the insects prefer.

Honeybees, or Apis mellifera mellifera, have been in Scotland for thousands of years, but total numbers are not known, It was feared that they had suffered a decline in recent years, with fewer sightings reported.

Bees with no more than 10 per cent of genes from other sub-species of honeybee were confirmed in a number of English regions including Denbighshire, Lancashire, Preston, West Sussex and Cambridgeshire, the Isle of Man and Derry in Northern Ireland. The study’s first round of testing involved examining unique physical attributes such as abdominal colour, the length of body hair and the pattern of veins in the wings. It will now be followed with genetic analysis involving DNA testing.

Black bees are predominantly black, with little or no stripes, and are larger than other types found in the UK: during the past 10,000 years, the native sub- species evolved thick black hair and a larger body to help keep it warm in our cooler climate, and a shorter breeding season to reflect the UK’s summer.

This has made it less susceptible to the vagaries of the British weather, which some experts suspect is a reason for a reduction in honeybees – nature’s most important pollinator – by up to 30 per cent in recent years.

The researchers studied 117 hives, believed to be native colonies, from 40 sites and found that more than half had significant native characteristics. Some of those in Scotland were “very pure indeed”. This has come despite large-scale bee imports.

Bibba president Terry Clare said: “We were pleasantly surprised … and this will, hopefully, persuade many more beekeepers to use British bees.”

Chris Shearlock, sustainable development manager at the Co-operative, said: “We can now move on to support a breeding programme, which will hopefully increase the number of British bees and help reduce the losses experienced in recent years.”

www.3milebees.com have started a breeding programme to introduce the Brish Black Bees in the North East of England

You can find more information at;

http://www.co-operative.coop/Plan-Bee/Whats-our-plan/Native-Bees/Read the bee study in full|Bee Study