Nearly a fifth of Britain's honeybees perished last year, increasing fears the species is in serious decline, experts warned yesterday.
Although the death toll is lower than the previous year - when nearly a third of hives did not make it through the winter - beekeepers say it is double the 'acceptable' level.
The annual survey by the British Beekeepers' Association revealed 19.2 per cent of colonies died in the winter.
Dying out: Honeybees are decreasing rapidly in number, with almost a fifth of the UK's population perishing last year
In the North of England, where losses were highest, nearly one in three colonies was wiped out. However, in the East of England 87 per cent survived.
The honeybee, or apis mellifera, pictured right, is essential for agriculture. It is thought to contribute around £200million to the economy by pollinating crops.
BBKA president Tim Lovett said: 'The improved figure is very welcome, but is way short of the 7 per cent to 10 per cent which - until the last five years - has been considered acceptable.
'These ongoing losses in the pollination army of honeybees cannot continue if we are to secure food supplies.'
The cold winter encouraged bees to cluster together, helping them to survive through to March, Mr Lovett said. Good weather in early spring allowed them to forage for nectar.
The association also believes beekeepers took extra care this year to prevent them from starving. There are between 200 and 300 commercial beekeepers in Britain and around 44,000 who keep bees as a hobby.
In recent years, honeybees have been hit by the varroa mite, which has spread here from Asia. The mites feed on bees and make hives more vulnerable to disease. Numbers may also have suffered due to changes in farming, which have cut the number of wildflowers growing in and around fields.
Climate change and pesticides have also been suggested as factors in their decline. They could soon face a further threat if warmer summers and milder winters encourage the spread of the Asian hornet, which preys on bees.
The two-inch long stinging insects are thought to have ravaged colonies in the south of France. A single hornet can kill 40 bees in a minute.
One insect expert from the Natural History Museum said: 'They can cope with European summers already and they are heading north, so it could only be a matter of time before they find their way to Britain.'
The hornets are thought to have arrived in France on a boat from China in 2004.
There are now 1,100 confirmed nests in the country, some as far north as Brittany.
A report by the cross-party Parliamentary Accounts Committee last month warned the Government was giving 'little priority' to the health of the nation's bees despite their importance to the agricultural economy.
The report called on the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to ring-fence research spending on bee health and ensure that it is not diluted by looking at other pollinating insects - a call backed by Mr Lovett.
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