Do more to tackle honeybee disease.

BEEKEEPERS have welcomed a report by a public spending watchdog which urged the Government to do more to tackle a bee disease which could have wider implications for farming.

The National Audit Office (NAO) report on the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs' (Defra) Animal Health Agency said the control of the varroa mite was hampered by the limited inspections of colonies carried out by Defra's National Bee Unit.

Beekeepers have reported unusually high losses of honeybees in recent years, largely attributed to the endemic varroa parasite, and some experts fear dire consequences for other types of agriculture due to the bees' crucial role in the pollination process.