Bee Colonies In The US Worsens As 44 Percent Of Them Have Gone Over The Last Year

According to a new study, the beekeepers in the United States are losing 44 percent of their honey bee colonies in the period of April 2015 to April 2016. This is worsened compared to last year. It showed that summer loss rates outdid winter loss rates.

Dennis vanEngelsdorp, the assistant professor of entomology at the University of Maryland said that they are now in the second year of high rates of summer loss, which is a cause for serious concern. He further said that winter losses are normal and expected. But he was disappointed by the fact that beekeepers are losing bees in the summer because bees should be at their healthiest during that season.

According to Bee Informed, there is an increase of 3.5 percent over the previous study in 2014 to 2015. The loss rates were found to be 40.6 percent. The winter loss rates have increased by 22.3 percent to previous rates of about 28.1 percent of this past winter. On the other hand, the summer loss rates have increased from 25.3 percent to 28.1 percent.

Nature World News stated that the continued decline of bee colonies in the United States are due to man-made and natural actions. The researchers said that a lethal parasite known as varroa mite could be the main cause of the decrease of bee colonies. It is also attributed to the use of pesticides in agricultural land.

Bees are needed for pollination. The flower, crops and some fruit industries that depend on bees for pollination could also be damaged.

Jeffrey Pettis, a senior entomologist at USDA said that the high rate of loss over the entire year means that beekeepers are working overtime to constantly replace the losses. He explained that these losses cost the beekeepers money and time. He further said that the industry needs these bees to meet the growing demand for pollination services and they urgently need solutions to slow the rate of both winter and summer colony losses.