SIR - Re: Twickenham Bees. Dr Vincent Cable made a timely reference to the threat of bees by urging more funds for research into bee diseases as reported in your paper last week (March 19).

Thousands of bees have been wiped out by the mite, varroa destructor, and bee colonies and beekeeping now face a further potentially serious threat by the small hive beetle, aetheda tumida, which is currently destroying colonies in Australia and the United States. There is a strong possibility that the beetle may travel to Europe and the UK in spite of stringent quarantine restrictions.

The latest comprehensive survey of Britain's native species of birds, butterflies and plants over four decades was also published in Science last week. This survey, which was released by the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology in Dorset, demonstrated that human activity is having a devastating impact on woodlands, heathlands and grasslands and that native species are in alarming decline.

Habitat loss and pollution were cited for this rapid loss.

The President of the Royal Society, Lord May, concluded that the trend to extinction was dismaying and drew attention to the point that insects (including butterflies and bees) are disappearing from even more areas than are birds. In our borough, the many parks such as Richmond and Bushy, together with Metropolitan Open Lands, including parts of the Crane Valley, provide a diverse habitat and corridor for wildlife, birds and insects.

Protection of all such resources is essential.

Bees and beekeeping aid biodiversity and the diverting exchange between Gordon Brown and Vincent Cable (House of Commons Hansard Debates for March 3, 2004, part 2) has had the welcome result of focusing on the continuing need for vital research into bee diseases.

Colin White President of Twickenham and Thames Valley Bee-Keepers' Association, The Apiary, Whitton Road, Twickenham