Swamp Stomp
Volume 17, Issue 51
All is not lost regarding the American honeybee population. A step in the right direction regarding the resurgence of their population occurred when winter losses were the lowest in more than a decade, according to a U.S. survey of beekeepers released May 25, 2017.
The annual Bee Informed Partnership survey found that the beekeepers lost 21 percent of their colonies over last winter. Though this number is still too high, it is the lowest winter loss percentage since the survey started in 2006 and an improvement from nearly 27 percent the winter before.
The ultimate goal of the U.S. government is to keep losses under 15 percent in the winter.
“It’s good news in that the numbers are down, but it’s certainly not a good picture,” said survey director Dennis vanEngelsdorp. “It’s gone from horrible to bad.”
vanEngelsdorp, a University of Maryland entomologist, believes that the lower percentage can be attributed to the reduction in varroa mites, a lethal parasite. According to him, a new product to combat the mite and better weather for pesticide use is the reason for the decrease in the parasite.
The average over a 10-year span for winter losses is 28.4 percent.
“We would of course all love it if the trend continues, but there are so many factors playing a role in colony health,” said bee expert Elina Lastro Nino at the University of California Davis, who wasn’t part of the survey. “I am glad to see this, but wouldn’t celebrate too much yet.”
There has been a steadily increasing decline in bees and other pollinators over more than ten years. Scientists blame the decline on a mix of parasites, disease, pesticides and poor nutrition.
Though the largest losses to bee colonies occur during the winter, these losses happen year round. Another good sign is that the survey found that the yearly losses were also down, but not to record lows. The survey found that around one third of the honey bee colonies that were around in April 2016 did not survive the year. This is improvement to last year when the yearly loss rate was higher than 40 percent.
The survey was started by the U.S. government but is now run by a nonprofit. The survey collects its data from nearly 5,000 beekeepers who manage more than 360,000 colonies. University of Montana’s Jerry Bromenshenk believes that the study gives too much weight to backyard beekeepers rather than commercial beekeepers.
Source: Borenstein, Seth. “Survey Finds US Honeybee Losses Improve from Horrible to Bad.” ABC News. ABC News Network, 25 May 2017. Web. 29 May 2017.