The National Bee Unit is responsible for the delivery of the Bee Health Programmes in England and Wales. Using BeeBase, a website designed to help monitor and control the spread of serious honey bee pests and diseases, the NBU consists of a team of 60-plus field-based Bee Inspectors and staff based in Sand Hutton

Sand Hutton

Sand Hutton is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England, about north-east of York.Part of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs's Food and Environment Research Agency is sited at Sand Hutton....

 in North Yorkshire. BeeBase provides up-to-date information for beekeepers to keep their honey bees healthy and productive.

History

In the 1950s, Bee Health was the responsibility of the National Agricultural Advisory Service (NAAS), with units in Harpenden

Harpenden

Harpenden is a town in Hertfordshire, England.The town's total population is just under 30,000.-Geography and administration:There are two civil parishes: Harpenden and Harpenden Rural....

 and Trawsgoed

Trawsgoed

Trawsgoed Estate located eight miles east of Aberystwyth in Ceredigion, Wales has been in the possession of the Vaughan family since the year 1200...

. These merged in 1979 to form the National Bee Unit at Luddington, Warwickshire

Luddington, Warwickshire

Luddington is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Warwickshire in the United Kingdom. It is located about five kilometres outside the town of Stratford-upon-Avon on the banks of the river Avon and has views south over the Cotswolds...

. The NBU moved to the Central Science Laboratory

Central Science Laboratory

The Central Science Laboratory was an executive agency of the UK government department the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs . It specialises in the sciences underpinning agriculture for sustainable crop production, environmental management and conservation and in food safety and...

 at Sand Hutton

Sand Hutton

Sand Hutton is a village and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England, about north-east of York.Part of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs's Food and Environment Research Agency is sited at Sand Hutton....

, North Yorkshire in 1991. In 2009 the Central Science Laboratory

Central Science Laboratory

The Central Science Laboratory was an executive agency of the UK government department the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs . It specialises in the sciences underpinning agriculture for sustainable crop production, environmental management and conservation and in food safety and...

 merged with other UK Government agencies to form The Food and Environment Research Agency

Food and Environment Research Agency

The Food and Environment Research Agency, a new Defra executive agency was vested on 1 April 2009.-History:The agency was formed by bringing together the Central Science Laboratory at Sand Hutton, the Plant Health Division / Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate in York, the Plant Variety Rights...

 (FERA), which was established to support and develop a sustainable food chain and a healthy natural environment.

Function

The unit functions on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the government department responsible for environmental protection, food production and standards, agriculture, fisheries and rural communities in the United Kingdom...

 (as part of The Food and Environment Research Agency

Food and Environment Research Agency

The Food and Environment Research Agency, a new Defra executive agency was vested on 1 April 2009.-History:The agency was formed by bringing together the Central Science Laboratory at Sand Hutton, the Plant Health Division / Plant Health and Seeds Inspectorate in York, the Plant Variety Rights...

 and the Welsh Assembly Government

Welsh Assembly Government

The Welsh Government is the devolved government of Wales. It is accountable to the National Assembly for Wales, the legislature which represents the interests of the people of Wales and makes laws for Wales...

. Using BeeBase it monitors and controls the spread of honey bee pests and diseases. A programme of research and development underpins the National Bee Unit's work and feeds back through advice to the beekeeping

Beekeeping

Beekeeping is the maintenance of honey bee colonies, commonly in hives, by humans. A beekeeper keeps bees in order to collect honey and other products of the hive , to pollinate crops, or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers...

 industry and the policy divisions in England and Wales.

It runs BeeBase, the Bee Health database.

Role

The role of the National Bee Unit is to protect the honey bee

Honey bee

Honey bees are a subset of bees in the genus Apis, primarily distinguished by the production and storage of honey and the construction of perennial, colonial nests out of wax. Honey bees are the only extant members of the tribe Apini, all in the genus Apis...

, an essential pollinator

Pollinator

A pollinator is the biotic agent that moves pollen from the male anthers of a flower to the female stigma of a flower to accomplish fertilization or syngamy of the female gamete in the ovule of the flower by the male gamete from the pollen grain...

 of crops and wild plants, and to support the beekeeping industry through:

• controlling serious endemic pests and diseases to minimise the economic and environmental impact.
• advising beekeepers on the recognition and control of pests to make the industry more self-sufficient.
• minimising the risk of importation of exotic pests and diseases and managing the risks should an incursion take place.

External links

• National Bee Unit
• Bee Health at the Food and Environment Research Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs