The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a comprehensive scientific report on honey bee health on Thursday. The report states that there are multiple factors playing a role in honey bee colony declines, including parasites and disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure.

In October 2012, a National Stakeholders Conference on Honey Bee Health, led by federal researchers and managers, along with Pennsylvania State University, was convened to synthesize the current state of knowledge regarding the primary factors that scientists believe have the greatest impact on managed bee health.  The key findings of the group include:

• Parasites and Disease Present Risks to Honey Bees:
• Increased Genetic Diversity is Needed:
• Poor Nutrition Among Honey Bee Colonies:
• There is a Need for Improved Collaboration and Information Sharing:
• Additional Research is Needed to Determine Risks Presented by Pesticides:

Director of the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture Dr. Sonny Ramaswamy says the group found a host of factors are responsible for the decline in bee health and numbers; “Including parasites, disease, genetics, poor nutrition and pesticide exposure.”  Ramaswamy says USDA is already taking steps to make the situation better by working with farmers to incorporate bee habitat into their land through the Conservation Reserve Program, the Conservation Stewardship Program and Environmental Quality Incentive Program.

AUDIO:Ramaswamy comments on the report 4:00 mp3

Acting EPA Administrator Bob Perciasepe says they are working to reduce pesticide exposure for bees including the development of new technologies which would reduce pesticide dust during planting. EPA is collaborating with state agencies and the North American Pollinator Campaign to advance education and training as part of pesticide applicator certification courses and to enhance reporting of bee-kill incidents. In addition the agency is implementing new risk-assessment processes to get a better picture of the sub-lethal effect pesticides are having on honey bees. They are also working with beekeepers to develop best management practices in the fight against parasites.

AUDIO: Perciasepe’s comments 5:00 mp3

The loss of bee habitat is one of the contributing factors;fourth-generation beekeeper Zac Browning says monoculture is part of the problem. “This year there will be roughly 370 million acres of land cultivated in the lower 48 states and 96 million of those will be planted to corn.” Corn fields are of no nutritional value to bees. He also notes that bees are often concentrated in large groups allowing pests and pathogens to spread easily among the colonies.

AUDIO:Browning’s comments 3:40 mp3

The report will provide important input to the Colony Collapse Disorder Steering Committee, led by the USDA, EPA and the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS).  You can read the report here: