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What’s behind this year’s honey bee losses?

Commercial beekeepers estimate they’ve lost more than 70 percent of their colonies nationwide.

Michigan State University Extension’s Ana Heck tells Brownfield, “Beekeepers are usually able to split surviving colonies to recuperate losses, but the last year we’ve seen higher losses than what we’re used to.”

“We really don’t have information yet on why the colony losses reported this last year are so high,” she shares.

She says losses of 30 to 50 percent are usually expected, and the constant repopulation can take a toll.

“One of the big issues with these high losses is the economics of it,” she says. “It’s going to be really expensive for beekeepers to try to recuperate losses and stay in business.”

Heck says beekeepers of all sizes are encouraged to participate in the U.S. Beekeeping Survey to help researchers better understand long-term factors impacting honey bee populations.

And she recommends planting flowers or trees to support pollinator habitat as well as minimizing pesticide use when honey bees are active.