WASHINGTON (AP) – After two years of improvement, America’s honeybees had another tough and deadly winter, probably because of mites, according to a new federal survey released Tuesday.
The annual survey of beekeepers showed the winter colony loss rate was 28 percent, up from 22 percent. That’s about average over the past decade but higher than the 17 percent that beekeepers call acceptable.
But it is still lower than the peak rate of 36 percent nine years ago.
“They continue not to do well and we really need to double our efforts to figure out why,” University of Maryland bee scientist and survey leader Dennis vanEngelsdorp said. “Now you’re losing well beyond what’s normal.”
The figures come from a survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and others. It includes 5,756 beekeepers, which represent about 5 percent of the nation’s 2.7 million commercial colonies. However, University of Montana bee scientist Jerry Bromenshenk questioned the reliability of the results because the survey relies on self-reporting. Based on what he heard from people, Bromenshenk suspects losses may be even bigger, especially in the East.