Warning of honey bee crisis

Quarrelling queens in Shropshire honey hives have left a sting in the tail for local shoppers.

Queen bees have been fighting for supremacy in Shropshire bee hives, leading to a fall in population and a slump in honey production. Queen bees usually live for up to five years and each summer lay huge numbers of eggs, which keep local hives going, but beekeepers are warning of a crisis.

This year Shropshire hives have lost hundreds of thousands of bees because colonies are replacing their queens too early, which could leave honey stocks decimated.

Today Beryl Green, from the Shropshire Beekeepers' Association, says: "This year, the early signs were that we were back on track because we had a bumper spring harvest, which we don't normally get. The bees emerged from winter in good condition and were able to produce a healthy quantity of honey in spring."

However, Mrs Green added that a bizarre re-queening phenomenon had put paid to hopes for a bumper harvest in July and August.

She said: "Normally, queen bees would live for three to five years. However, the hives have been re-queening, some of them more than once.

"That means the laying of eggs has been interrupted, which has led to smaller populations. Some of our bee colonies have been completely wiped out. Each colony, or hive, contains up to 60,000 bees, so when we lose a few colonies we find ourselves seriously depleted."

Mrs Green added that fans of Shropshire honey ought to stock up now.

Stockist details are available from www.shropshire bees.co.uk, John King's Shropshire Honey on (01694) 781544 or by e-mailing johnking@shropshirehoney.com

By Andy Richardson