For the past decade or so scientists have been trying to determine the causes for honey bees dying off in the hives of commercial beekeepers in the US and UK. This honey bees dying problem worsened in 2014, with some commercial beekeepers losing as much as 40 percent of their bees.
In the US, the Bee Informed Partnership along with the Apiary Inspectors of America does a survey every year amongst beekeepers to check the health of their hives and the bee survival rate. The honey bee die-off rate for winter was revealed to be a little less than last year at 23.1 versus 23.7 percent, while the summer losses went up from 19.8 to 27.4 percent. The worst hit state was Oklahoma, where more than 60 percent of bee keeper’s bees died.
Prior to this year’s study, the groups had felt that honey bees dying off was usually worse in the winter, as it is a time of less food and cold weather. However, the results showed more of a loss in the summer, which was very troubling since summer should be a time of plenty for bees to live and travel around in the sunshine and abundance of plants and flowers to get pollen from.
Mites Cause Some Honey Bees Dying Problem
The study, which is paid for partly by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, found that when it came to bee hives kept by smaller backyard owners, the honey bee-die off was mostly caused by a parasite called the varroa mite, however, this wasn’t the case for larger, commercial beekeepers. The reason for this discovery is seen to be that some backyard owners aggressive enough in their efforts to protect their hives from the mites.
The mite is not present in the UK, and UK beekeepers are warned to be vigilant to protect their hives from this problem.
In addition to the mites, the researchers looked for signs of Colony Collapse Disorder, which is a massive honey bee die-off caused by various problems such as the pesticides bees are exposed to during their travel to find food, as well as mites, pathogens, loss of habitat, and other issues.
Loss of Honey Bees Could Impact Food Crops
The honey bee is a vital part of the scenario as they travel around to pollinate food crops, and the potential loss of the honey bee would be a serious issue since the honey bee is what pollinates a large portion of our food crops. For instance, without the honey bee, there could be no almond crop as this nut relies totally on bees to be pollinated. The food production industry in the US estimates that almost $30 billion in crops are dependent on pollination by bees, so if the honey bees continue to die off, we could have less food available for the world.
