Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
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BEEKEEPERS BUZZING AS MORE REGISTER ON NATIONAL DATABASE
The number of beekeepers has grown over the last year, according to the National Bee Unit, which runs BeeBase, the national beekeepers’ database.
Increasing the numbers of registered beekeepers is an important feature of ‘Healthy Bees’, the long term plan to protect and improve bee health.
More than 1,500 new beekeepers have registered on BeeBase this year and much of this has been attributed to the increased publicity on bee health, leading to more people donning bee suits and picking up smokers for the first time.
There are also large numbers of new entrants being seen at beekeeping training events provided by the National Bee Unit’s team of bee inspectors and beekeeping associations. Recent training events have seen over 13,000 attendees.
Bee health Minister Lord Davies said:
“This is great news – more beekeepers are registering on BeeBase. This entitles them to the free inspection service offered by the National Bee Unit and ensures that they are able to keep up to date on disease developments.
“It is encouraging that more people appear to be taking up beekeeping and taking up bee health training opportunities. By working with all beekeepers we can collaborate to improve bee health.”
1. More information on the National Been Unit is available at www.nationalbeeunit.com, and the Government’s Healthy Bees plan can be found at
http://www.defra.gov.uk/h ort/Bees/news/plan.pdf.
2. The BeeBase database was constructed in 1991 and made live in 1992. It holds data on all the inspections made by staff of the NBU as well as laboratory samples submitted by beekeepers. BeeBase allows beekeepers to access their own apiary, diagnostic histories and details over the web. It also provides information on the functional activities of the NBU, legislation, pests and diseases including their recognition and control, interactive maps, current research areas, publications, advisory leaflets and key contacts. The database also allows beekeepers to request a free apiary visit from a local inspector who will provide help and advice.
