News

Honeybee losses higher in 2014-’15

Honeybee losses in the U.S. in the past year were higher than the previous period, according to the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the USDA.

The ARS says managed honey bee colony losses in the summer exceeded losses in the winter for the first time, pointing to the seriousness of the health problems stressing honeybees.

The total annual losses were just over 42% from April 2014 through April 2015.

Jeff Pettis, senior entomologist at the ARS Bee Research Lab in Beltsville, Maryland, says if beekeepers are going to meet the growing demand for pollination services, researchers have to find better answers to all of the stressors leading to winter AND summer colony losses.