Are bees going extinct? American beekeepers report massive colony losses last summer
- 8 years ago
UNITED STATES — The Bee Informed Partnership has released its annual survey of the national health of bees in America, and yet again the number of colonies is shrinking.
Bee hive losses have increased, according to the survey, which said American beekeepers lost 44 percent of their hives from April 2015 to April 2016.
Last year's losses amounted to 40.6 percent. And losses in summer 2015 increased to 28.1 percent of hives, the same rate of loss for winter 2015.
While hive losses are known and expected to increase during the winter, it is notable that the same losses are occurring during the summer, when bees should be thriving.
Bee Informed — which describes itself as "a collaboration of efforts across the country from some of the leading research labs and universities in agriculture and science" — points to a few contributing factors. "A clear culprit is the varroa mite, a lethal parasite that can easily spread between colonies," the company wrote in an article following the survey. "Pesticides and malnutrition caused by changing land use patterns are also likely taking a toll, especially among commercial beekeepers." Africanized killer bees have been found to kill swarms in California.
Bees pollinate fruits, nuts and vegetables. Some crops, such as almonds, are entirely dependant on honey bees. Around the world, bees and other pollinators are responsible for 35 percent of crops, worth an incredible $577 billion. The White House reported that honey bees contribute more than $15 billion to the U.S. economy annually.
Data for the survey was collected from 5,700 beekeepers from 48 states.
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Bee hive losses have increased, according to the survey, which said American beekeepers lost 44 percent of their hives from April 2015 to April 2016.
Last year's losses amounted to 40.6 percent. And losses in summer 2015 increased to 28.1 percent of hives, the same rate of loss for winter 2015.
While hive losses are known and expected to increase during the winter, it is notable that the same losses are occurring during the summer, when bees should be thriving.
Bee Informed — which describes itself as "a collaboration of efforts across the country from some of the leading research labs and universities in agriculture and science" — points to a few contributing factors. "A clear culprit is the varroa mite, a lethal parasite that can easily spread between colonies," the company wrote in an article following the survey. "Pesticides and malnutrition caused by changing land use patterns are also likely taking a toll, especially among commercial beekeepers." Africanized killer bees have been found to kill swarms in California.
Bees pollinate fruits, nuts and vegetables. Some crops, such as almonds, are entirely dependant on honey bees. Around the world, bees and other pollinators are responsible for 35 percent of crops, worth an incredible $577 billion. The White House reported that honey bees contribute more than $15 billion to the U.S. economy annually.
Data for the survey was collected from 5,700 beekeepers from 48 states.
-------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off.
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Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj
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Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus