Rothamsted experimental station was one of the leading institutes for bee research, and remains the oldest agricultural research station in the world. Based in Hertfordshire , Britain ’s top bee scientists worked there on curing bee diseases in the United Kingdom and sharing information with other apiculturists around the globe.

Two years ago, Rothamsted’s honey bee research section was shut down, leaving the government’s National Bee Unit as the principal centre responsible for bee studies and disease diagnosis.

Possible solution

Norman Carreck was very concerned about the varroa mite (see boxout: Varroa). One of the honey bee’s worst enemies, it was showing signs of resistance to the miticides that were keeping it under control. Mr Carreck knew that in a short time the parasite would be completely resistant.

He was working with his colleagues on a potentially breakthrough solution to the problem: “We were working on a promising fungus that would kill varroa without affecting the honey bee, but needed more money for another three years.”

But no more money arrived. In 2006 Defra stopped funding for bee research at Rothamsted. It could not afford to keep Mr Carreck and other apiculture scientists in employment. The work ceased.

Dr Juliet Osborne is still at Rothamsted, where she studies bumblebees. She says that the departure of Mr Carreck and his colleagues was a great loss, but one that Rothamsted could not prevent without government help: “We’d had bee disease work at Rothamsted for a hundred years at least. In the last 20 years, all funding for this was from Defra. When they decided to stop funding the whole unit, it was impossible for Rothamsted to take up the slack.”

“ Norman was working on a fungal pathogen to deal with Varroa. It was very frustrating for us all. Now the research is at a stage where Defra won’t fund it.”

Sometimes scientists can obtain funding from chemical companies for their projects, but this was not possible: “It is very hard to market to commercial companies at the stage it is at.”

Mr Carreck agrees: “The product was at a stage where it was too far from being a commercial product and needed more money from the government.

“We’d wasted two years work. Now look at the situation: just at the time that project would have been very useful, the work ground to a halt.”

National Bee Unit

Mike Brown is head of the National Bee Unit (NBU), which runs from the government’s Central Science Laboratory in York . After Rothamsted’s closure, it is the only major bee research station in Britain .

Mr Brown has 45 bee inspectors who visit and examine 25,000 hives between them. He wants more funding for research, but does not expect it: “There are all sorts of priorities for Defra and they have to decide what they are.”

A complaint levelled at the NBU is that it spends the majority of its time and budget diagnosing bee problems and does not have time or money left for research into cures for them. Dr Osborne says: “Most of the work of the NBU is diagnosis of disease, not the prevention of it or management of the bees.”

When asked about continuing research into Mr Carreck’s fungal solution for Varroa mites, Mr Brown says: “No, we are not working on that one; I don’t think we need to do that. Besides, France and New Zealand are working on it.”

For Dr Osborne, this is not satisfactory: “Of course they are strapped for resources, but they feel they can rely on research results from other countries. They can’t. The situation in Britain is different to anywhere else.”

Without Rothamsted providing in-depth research and projects looking into bee health, is the NBU able to pick up the slack? Mr Brown regrets the closure of the bee unit at Rothamsted and admits that research is difficult: “It is pretty hard to keep things going. We worked closely with them.”

Future research in Britain

Closing Rothamsted has angered beekeepers and scientists alike. Chairman of the British Beekeepers Association (BBKA) Tim Lovett says: “It is perverse that, just at the moment when we clearly need a strong body of bee researchers, we have lost major capacity. The UK has taken itself from the forefront of bee research to the rear.”

In response, Defra Minister of State Lord Rooker denies that the government is responsible for Rothamsted closing its bee unit: “T he closure of Rothamsted’s bee unit was a matter for Rothamsted; it was not an issue of Defra funding, although obviously we use the centre for research.

“Although there is no longer a team working on bee pathology at Rothamsted, apparently a group of researchers still studies bee behaviour, pollination and conservation.

“To the best of my knowledge, we are not short of bee research.”

Rothamsted spokesperson Dr Susannah Bolton remains hopeful that the bee unit will reopen one day: “Clearly it was an area of specialist science that did important work.”

For Dr Osborne, this will not happen unless the budget for bee health changes: “I’m not holding my breath that Defra will come up with more money, or soon.”

 

What do Defra have to say about Rothamsted and funding for bee research? And what are other MPs saying about the bee situation? Click here to find out.