HUNDREDS of amateur beekeepers are flocking to register their hobby with the environment and food department Defra as concern grows world-wide about sudden and unexplained declines in honey bee populations.

In Britain, honey bees have been at risk for some years as a result of disease carried by invasive mites but there are fears that a plague known as sudden colony collapse may arrive here from the USA, where it is estimated to have wiped out a third of the honey bee population.

The cause is unknown – although beekeepers there are pointing an accusatory finger at pesticides - but whole colonies of bees suddenly abandon their hives and literally disappear.

This is causing widespread anxiety in the US because bees pollinate millions of acres of crops like fruit and beans. Here in Yorkshire, these developments are being watched with mounting concern because honey collected from heather flowers in the Dales and North York Moors are a premium crop fetching high prices.

Because of recent publicity, however, more and more amateur beekeepers are registering with BeeBase, a campaign launched by Defra to encourage the hobby. Some 1,600 new people have joined with year, which is “very good news indeed” says junior Defra minister Lord Davies.