Curators at Weston Park Museum have revealed not a single honeybee remains in the famous glass hive today.

Sheffield Museums' Natural History Curator Alistair McClean said the colony had been reintroduced last year to replace the original hive which was housed in the museum until the early 90s.

He said there had been no warning of what was to come and that the colony had been healthy and thriving - until beekeepers, also known as apiarists, discovered they had gone.

Alistair said: "There were a number of dead bees and the rest had disappeared. We are very disappointed, the bees formed a fairly healthy colony and had survived throughout the winter, then they were wiped out literally overnight." He said it was feared the bees had fallen victim to what is being described by beekeeping experts as colony collapse disorder.

Scientists believe the mystery virus has claimed up to 90 per cent of bee colonies in the USA and has began to affect hives in Britain.

Alistair said: "No one knows exactly what the virus is or what causes it. It could be global warming, pesticides or the introduction of GM crops, we just don't know.

"Many apiarists in the Sheffield area have suffered similar losses to ours and I can't remember the last time I saw a wild honeybee in the garden."

Some experts have warned the crisis could threaten a disaster worse than global warming because bees are so vital to the food chain - but Alistair said he believed there was no need to panic. He said: "Einstein said that if the bee becomes extinct then mankind will only survive for another four years. Personally I don't think it's as catastrophic as that.

"Weston Park's bees were an Italian variety and it seems imported bees are badly affected by the virus.

"Local apiarists are now rearing British bees which don't seem to have been affected so badly."

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