Last updated 19:27, Thursday, 20 November 2008

A DISASTROUS summer has stopped the honey flow from the beehives of West Cumbria – and the buzz now is that supplies will run short this Christmas.

BUZZ from the beehives: Beekeeper Bill Mackereth, from Cockermouth, shows off his honey

The cold, wet weather puts bees off their instinct to collect and store honey, and the problem is worsened because flowers cannot produce as much nectar.

Bill Mackereth, 72, of Whiteside, Cockermouth, secretary of Cockermouth Beekeepers Association and president of Cumbria Beekeepers, has been beekeeping for 33 years and has never seen the problem this bad.

He said: “For the first time since 1975, when I started beekeeping, I have no honey left.

“I always try to keep a few boxes back for emergencies but I have even used up all these now.

“Sometimes I don’t think people appreciate how much bees do and how important they are in producing honey.”

Mr Mackereth said that the culmination of bad weather and a parasitic mite, the Varroa, which attaches to bees and spreads viruses, had contributed to the shortage.

He said: “The majority of the honey is produced during the summer months, and because there are not as many bees around and not enough nectar produced, amounts of honey produced have suffered.

“If we have good weather next summer we should be back up to where we should be and not have to worry about honey shortages. It can change very quickly.

“However, the Varroa is also causing a problem because they are shortening bees’ lives and becoming resistant to treatment.

“We would like some funding from the Government to carry out research into treatments for the Varroa.

“I would think keen gardeners will have noticed that there have been fewer bees around.”