More honeybee colonies survived winter in the South West than anywhere else in the UK — but the parlous state of the bee population remains.

Figures collected by the British Beekeepers' Association showed that the percentage of honeybee colonies which made it through last year was slightly higher than last year, despite the harsh conditions. While 17.3 per cent of colonies across the UK were lost over the winter, there were significant regional variations.

Losses of more than a quarter of colonies (26 per cent) in the North of England compared to just 12.8 per cent in the South West.

Beekeepers in the Westcountry suggested the better performance in the region could be explained by the well-developed management techniques. But while there was a "small and encouraging improvement" in survival rates this year, the UK's honeybees were still not healthy enough, the organisation's president Martin Smith warned.

Nationwide, the figures were a slight improvement on 2008-2009 when 19.2 per cent of colonies did not make it through the winter and were significantly better than the "disastrous" losses of 2007-2008 when 30.1 per cent did not survive.

Mr Smith said: "Winter losses between 7 per cent and 10 per cent are acceptable. The current rate is not and neither are the vast regional differences. Yet there is no answer to what is causing the losses. Disease, bad weather and poor nutrition due to habitat loss are the prime suspects."

Glyn Davies, a member of the Devon Beekeepers' Association, said regular courses, a world standard website and a county-wide journal had all helped developed a strong set of skills among beekeepers in the county. But he said: "I have been keeping bees for 30 years, but it's only the last 15 years where we have had problems. If you had lost 10 per cent in winter it would have been a pretty bad year. So when we got to 30 per cent, that was dramatic. We are not back to where we were, but it is going the right way."