HONEY supplies in Worcestershire are expected to run out in the next few months due to bad weather over the past two years.

But local beekeepers are optimistic there will be an upturn in supplies next year.

Martin Cracknell, president of the Worcestershire Beekeepers’ Association, said honey yields in the county were about a third down on what keepers had hoped for apart from a few individuals who had a good year because their hives were in sheltered positions.

He said the shortage was also made worse because stocks were already low following a bad year in 2007.

But he said the bees were now flying strongly and looking well, which was a good sign for the coming year.

“I am optimistic that the problem is a combination of the weather over two years,” Mr Cracknell said.

“The bees are looking quite well now and they are flying very strongly at the moment. They are going to the ivy blossom and that should help them get through the winter.”

He added that some beekeepers had also fed bees with sugar syrup to ensure they did not starve.

The decline in the bee population and reduced honey production has been put down to the varroa mite but Mr Cracknell said the problem with the mite had not been as bad as first anticipated.

Some beekeepers have taken measures to help bees deal with the mite by replacing the solid floors of hives with a mesh so that the mites fall out of the hives.

Mr Cracknell said they had also shaken icing sugar over the bees, which reduces the mite’s ability to grip onto the bee and stimulates the insects into vigorous grooming, causing the mite to drop off.

“We do not have the huge amount of varroa we were expecting. If we can find strains of bee that are better at self grooming, it might be quite positive.

“Varroa does not seem to be as serious as we had expected.” he said.

He also said there might be an early crop of honey next year depending upon the success of the rapeseed crops.

Meanwhile, shops are expected to remain stocked with imported honey.