Joe the cereal honey hoarder

10:50pm Friday 5th September 2008

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A Sugar Puffs fan has snapped up 400 packets of the cereal after reading about a disease wiping out Britain’s honey bees.

Bank worker Joe Terry, 25, loaded up on the honey-covered treats this week after learning that nearly one in three bee colonies in the country had mysteriously died out because of colony collapse disorder (CCD) – leading to a shortage of honey supplies.

The Honey Association warned last month that English honey will run out by Christmas and no more will be available until next summer.

Joe, from Brighton, spent more than £700 and drove to four different supermarkets to stock up on the cereal.

Joe said: “I read about the amount of honey bees that were dying out and I must admit I panicked.

“I really love Sugar Puffs and since they are glazed in honey I was worried that they would have to limit how many boxes they made if the bees keep dying.

“I just drove round all the supermarkets in my area and bought all the packets of Sugar Puffs they had. They thought I was a bit odd but I didn’t care. I just wanted to make sure that I didn’t go without if the worst came to the worst.

“Now I can sleep easy knowing that I will have enough to last me for the next few years.”

Joe regularly munches his way through two boxes a week, tucking into three bowls a day when he’s peckish.

In the past year nearly 30% of bee colonies have died out according to the British Beekeepers’ Association (BBKA).

It is still not known what causes CCD, but it is believed to be spread by the varroa mite.

Tim Lovett, BBKA president, said: “Average bee losses due to poor weather and disease vary from between 5% and 10%, so a 30% loss is deeply worrying. This spells serious trouble for pollination services and honey producers.”

The Government recognises that the nation’s 240,000 honey bee hives – run by 44,000 beekeepers, most of them amateurs – contribute about £165 million a year to the economy by helping to pollinate crops.

Mr Lovett warned: “Thirty per cent fewer honey bee colonies could therefore cost the economy some £50 million.”

Although British honey only accounts for 10% of the estimated 30,000 tons of honey consumed in the UK, other large honey producing countries have also been severely hit by poor weather and bee diseases.

Argentina is the world’s honey pot, producing up to about 75,000 tons a year — three times the amount of nearest rival Mexico.

But Argentina has had a 27% drop in yield due to droughts and the planting of soya beans for biofuel. As a result, there has been a 60% rise in the price of honey.

In the US, yields have been slashed by honey bee losses of 36%, mostly due to CCD.

British Farming Minister Lord Rooker predicted the demise of the honey bee, telling Parliament: “We do not deny that honey bee health is at risk. If nothing is done about it, the honey bee population could be wiped out in ten years.”

Joe said: “As I soon as I read these reports I sprang into action. People might think I’m daft but they’ll come running to me if they can’t get their hands on Sugar Puffs.”

The Argus revealed earlier this year how a cereal-mad office worker shocked friends and family by changing his name to Honey Monster.

Peter Thomas, 31, a Brighton-based insurance worker, has eaten at least one bowl of Sugar Puffs a day since he was nine – even taking boxes on holiday with him so he didn’t miss out on his daily treat.

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