THERE is much more the humble honey bee than meets the eye. The insect is responsible for enabling the production of the world's food supply as Keith Drayton found out.

The threat to mankind centres around the mysterious demise of the honey bee.

The honey bee is disappearing in huge numbers across the globe. It all started three to four years ago - and if the problem is not solved, there could be disastrous consequences within five or six years.

Without pollination - when pollen is transferred from plant to plant as bees forage for pollen and nectar - fruit or seed would not be produced.

Although artificial pollination of plants and crops does take place, pollination by insects such as bees is far more effective and leads to stronger, healthier crops and increased productivity.

Not only is our food under threat - bees also pollinate crops grown for animal feed, such as cattle alfalfa.

Beekeepers locally have reported as much as 60 per cent of their hives 'dying out' in the past year.

Richard Davies, chairman of the Peterborough and District Beekeepers Association, has lost 40 per cent of the hives at his Farcet home. And Yaxley-based association secretary, George Newton, has seen a 60 per cent decline.

Richard says: "People are losing between 30 per cent and 50 per cent of their hives - some are losing the lot. There's always natural wastage - but this is entirely different.

"If the trend continues there will not be sufficient honey bees to pollinate our fruit, like apples, pears and strawberries, vegetables like carrots, onions and cabbages, and crops like oil seed rape.

"And, as it's a worldwide problem, there won't be the crops, fruit and vegetables to import from abroad.

"Once honey bee colonies get down to a certain number it will be very hard to breed sufficient numbers to meet the world's pollination needs. Within five to six years we would be in real trouble."

George has been beekeeping for over 50 years and Richard for 45 years. Richard said: "It's the worst that we have known things. We are concerned for the future of the bee.

"What makes things worse is that no one really knows what's causing the problem. If we knew what was causing it then we could stop it happening."

George underlined the urgency of the situation when he said: "It seems that perfectly healthy bees are dying. I had my hives inspected in August and, five days later, one was empty - just eight or nine dead bees in it."

One theory is that bee numbers have been decimated by the varroa mite, which hit their numbers about 15 years ago.

Richard explained: "The mite is about the size of a pin head and it sucks on the blood of the bee larva in the hive.

"Fifteen years ago the pharmaceutical industry came up with something that killed off the mite - but now the mite is resistant to it and this could be part of the problem.

"When the mite sucks on the larva's blood it leaves the bee weak and exposed to all of the various germs that exist in the hive and outside - in the way that humans get ill when their resistance is low."

Research programmes have been launched across the world and the Peterborough association is contributing to a study being undertaken at Sheffield University, funded by the East Anglian Beekeepers' Federation.

Says Richard: "Worldwide, governments are putting an enormous amount of money into research and we are contributing towards the study at Sheffield University. It is a very serious problem."

Apart from the grave threat to our food supplies, the disappearance of the honey bee also has huge financial implications. For instance, the bee pollinates 90 per cent of the British apple crop - an industry worth £104 million.

Overall, bees pollinate a third of the food we eat and this contributes £200 million a year to the UK economy.

What canyou do to help save the honeybee?
There are four ways in which you can make a positive contribution:
1 – Plant bee friendly flowers and shrubs around your home. This can be an all-year-round effort ranging from flowers like crocus, snowdrop and violet in February and March through to fuchsia, ivy and thistle in September and October.
The list of 'bee friendly' plants also includes fruit, vegetables, hedges and trees, suitable for planting at various times between April and October.
To find out more, contact Richard Davies on 01733-34929 or George Newton on 01733-243349.
2 – If you spot a bee swarm next Spring, don't contact a pest controller. Call the Peterborough Beekeepers' Association swarm hotline on 01733- 243349 and they will arrange for a local beekeeper to come out and remove the swarm – often within a couple of hours of receiving the call.
Says Richard: "Swarms can seem frightening, but if left alone they are not dangerous. If you call us we can collect the colony – a pest controller would destroy it."
3 – Write to your MP and encourage him to support Government initiatives to fund research into the decline of our bee population. richard explains:
"The more people who say we need to be doing something, the more the Government will keep doing something."
4 - Don't use toxic sprays on your garden or allotment; but, if you have to, do your spraying early in the morning or late in the day, when bees are not flying.