The project will be carried out with consultancy People Science & Policy to develop a better understanding of how to support new and existing beekeepers.

The results of the study will be used to improve the advice and training available to beekeepers as part of the healthy bees plan.

The 10-year plan was launched a year ago by Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government to recognise the importance of everyone with an interest in bees — including commercial and amateur beekeepers — working together to promote and improve honey bee health.

There is a strong public interest in honey bees together with increased interest in the environment and awareness of declines in the number of bees, which has encouraged more people to take up beekeeping.

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are important in contributing to food security, primarily through crop pollination but also through local food production.

They are also an essential pollinator of wild plants and therefore contribute to local environmental biodiversity.

In recent years there have been threats to honey bee health, including pests, diseases and resistance to commonly used treatments for the parasitic varroa mite.