£1m grant for York bee project (From Gazette & Herald)
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£1m grant for York bee project at The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera)
12:08pm Thursday 15th July 2010 in Farming news
SCIENTISTS in York studying diseases affecting Europe’s honey bee population have received a £1 million grant to back their research.
The bee unit at The Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera), based at Sand Hutton, will now review 20 years of data on the spread of diseases which are having a devastating affect on hives.
The co-ordinator of the research at Sand Hutton, Dr Giles Budge, said the honey bee was considered the most economically important insect pollinator in the world and is worth £200 million to the UK economy.
He said: “Honey bee colony losses have been reported from many countries around the world.
“By understanding how disease is transmitted in insect pollinator populations, our project will minimise the impact of disease on this community.”
The team will look at how the devastating disease European Foulbrood (EFB) affects honey bee colonies and study how the genetics of the bee, the behaviour of the beekeeper, and changing weather conditions determine the spread of EFB through the British landscape.
