TEN BILLION HONEY BEES DISAPPEARED

[Anchor Lead]

Honeybees are disappearing fast, dealing a severe blow to honey keeping farmers. The government says the cause lies in mites that infest bee colonies and decided to strengthen pest control measures, but some point out that a more fundamental solution is necessary.

[Pkg]

Empty bee hives. Piles of dead worker bees. Even the queen bee, which lays eggs, is now gone. About a third of some 350 bee hives have been affected since last fall.

[Soundbite] Shim On(CEO of Beekeeping Farm) : "We would take appropriate measures if we knew the cause. Right now we don’t know why the bees are disappearing."

The number of bee hives nationwide recorded 2.9 million last summer. By the end of the year it fell to 2.47 million, meaning honey bees from some 400-thousand bee hives disappeared during last fall alone. In terms of the number of bees, the figure is estimated to reach as high as 10 billion. Given the honey bees' high mortality rates in winter, the scale of damage could be much more serious. The government says the cause lies in mites that infest bee colonies. It says pest control measures, usually conducted in July, were not carried out sufficiently in order to maximize honey harvest, and the belated excessive use of chemicals undermined the bees' immune system.

[Soundbite] Kim Jung-wook(Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) : "We will hold beekeeping farms more responsible for neglecting pest control by depriving them of state subsidies."

Authorities decided not to spray chemicals en-masse from helicopters, as farmers also blame pine wilt disease pesticides for the disappearance and death of honey bees. Although the government believes the disappearance of honey bees is not serious enough to affect the beekeeping sector, experts point out the impact on crop cultivation and the ecology should be considered as well.

[Soundbite] Prof. Park Jung-joon(Gyeongsang Nat'l Univ.) : "Honey bees are in charge of 30 percent of crop water globally. Their economic impact on domestic water in 2013 was estimated at around KRW 6 tn."

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs as well as the Ministry of Environment are trying to devise measures to prevent honey bees from disappearing.