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Beekeeping: Research

Volume 475: debated on Thursday 15 May 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research projects on beekeeping have been funded by his Department in the last five years; what bids for funding for such research projects his Department has not accepted during that period; and if he will make a statement. (205250)

The following projects have been funded by DEFRA in the last five years.

Project

From

To

Cost (£)

HH0817THB: The control of exotic bee diseases and their likely interactions with UK conditions

2001

2004

330,000

HH0819SHB: Fungal control of Varroa jacobsoni (destructor)

2002

2006

383,802

HH3126SHB: Evaluation of TaqMan real-time PCR for detection of Aethina tumida (Small Hive Beetle)

2005

2005

14,348

HH3223SHB: Minimisation of oxytetracycline levels in honey after antibiotic treatment

2003

2004

25,000

HH3234SHB: Optimisation of detection methods for Melissococcus plutonius (European foulbrood, EFB)

2005

2005

10,101

HH3235SHB: Honey bee virus detection and discrimination

2005

2005

25,233

HH3815SHB: A promotional publication summarising the DEFRA Bee Health Research and Development activity over 10 years

2004

2005

9,920

PH0410: The taxonomy of UK and exotic honey bee viruses: a molecular approach (PhD Fellowship)

2007

2010

81,248

PH0502: Assessing the effectiveness of the shook swarm method for controlling European Foul Brood

2006

2008

185,393

PH0503: Development of a monitoring system for the small hive beetle, Aethina tumida (Murray)

2006

2008

225,772

PN0936: The effects of endocrine disrupters on honeybee populations

2001

2004

86,148

PN0945: Assessing the impact of mixtures of pyrethroids and fungicides on honeybees

2001

2004

55,718

PS2322: Assessment of the risk posed to honeybees by systemic pesticides

2005

2007

46,104

VM02140: Investigation of the fate of veterinary drugs used in apiculture

2004

2007

180,589

VM02156: Investigation into the experimental protocols required to determine Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) in honey: Preliminary study using organic acids as model compounds to propose ways in which withdrawal times might be calculated

2007

2010

287,083

We do not have full records of bids that were not funded in the last five years. With respect to the last two years, there was a bid for a three-year project to develop management strategies for small hive beetle which was not funded although a shorter project to develop a monitoring system for small hive beetle is ongoing. There was also an outline proposal but no formal bid for a project to build upon previous DEFRA funded work to develop a biological control product for the varroa mite. This project is still being discussed; a decision has yet to be made about whether this work will be funded.