![](https://i.imgur.com/CLvY2jA.png")
23-06-2023, 02:26 PM
By SETH BORENSTEIN
yesterday
WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s honeybee hives just staggered through the second highest death rate on record, with beekeepers losing nearly half of their managed colonies
......
Honeybees are crucial to the food supply, pollinating more than 100 of the crops we eat, including nuts, vegetables, berries, citrus and melons. Scientists said a combination of parasites, pesticides, starvation and climate change keep causing large die-offs.
Last year’s 48% annual loss is up from the previous year’s loss of 39% and the 12-year average of 39.6%, but it’s not as high as 2020-2021’s 50.8% mortality rate
......
“This is a very troubling loss number when we barely manage sufficient colonies to meet pollination demands in the U.S.,” said former government bee scientist Jeff Pettis
......
The prognosis is not as bad as 15 years ago because beekeepers have learned how to rebound from big losses
......
The parasitic mite Varroa destructor that helps transmit viruses is the chief culprit, but bad weather and queen issues were also big problems in the past year
.....
The mite varroa is a flat creature that crawls on the bee – it would be the equivalent of a frisbee or flat softball on human bodies – Evans said. The mite seems to make it easier for viruses to attack and kill bees, he and Steinhauer said.
It used to take large amounts of varroa, such as in 60% of a colony, to cause virus problems, but now even small infestations at 1% or 2% in a colony can cause massive problems
......
Another problem is landscapes that have only one crop or homogenous landscapes which deprive bees of food, while pesticides and bouts of extreme weather also have caused problems.
......
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says 35% of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants and the honeybee is responsible for 80% of that pollination.
https://apnews.com/article/honeybees-pol...1587b5aced
yesterday
WASHINGTON (AP) — America’s honeybee hives just staggered through the second highest death rate on record, with beekeepers losing nearly half of their managed colonies
......
Honeybees are crucial to the food supply, pollinating more than 100 of the crops we eat, including nuts, vegetables, berries, citrus and melons. Scientists said a combination of parasites, pesticides, starvation and climate change keep causing large die-offs.
Last year’s 48% annual loss is up from the previous year’s loss of 39% and the 12-year average of 39.6%, but it’s not as high as 2020-2021’s 50.8% mortality rate
......
“This is a very troubling loss number when we barely manage sufficient colonies to meet pollination demands in the U.S.,” said former government bee scientist Jeff Pettis
......
The prognosis is not as bad as 15 years ago because beekeepers have learned how to rebound from big losses
......
The parasitic mite Varroa destructor that helps transmit viruses is the chief culprit, but bad weather and queen issues were also big problems in the past year
.....
The mite varroa is a flat creature that crawls on the bee – it would be the equivalent of a frisbee or flat softball on human bodies – Evans said. The mite seems to make it easier for viruses to attack and kill bees, he and Steinhauer said.
It used to take large amounts of varroa, such as in 60% of a colony, to cause virus problems, but now even small infestations at 1% or 2% in a colony can cause massive problems
......
Another problem is landscapes that have only one crop or homogenous landscapes which deprive bees of food, while pesticides and bouts of extreme weather also have caused problems.
......
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says 35% of the human diet comes from insect-pollinated plants and the honeybee is responsible for 80% of that pollination.
https://apnews.com/article/honeybees-pol...1587b5aced
