Bee Loss Update: 1.1 Million Colonies Died This Winter

As an update to my original post on the catastrophic losses of Western honey bees . . .

In The Beekeeper blog, Kim Flottum, editor of Bee Culture magazine, reports on the results of a recent survey conducted by the Apiary Inspectors of America in January and February this year that gathered information from 18% of the colonies in the U.S.  Although the survey initially suggested that about 35% of all U.S. colonies died this past winter, the survey was done before winter snows had melted, and Flottum suggests that the adjusted loss is closer to 44% -- which translates to 1.1 million colonies, or "just shy of what’s needed for almond pollination next spring."

Based on the survey, the mortality causes break down as follows: 71% died of natural causes; and 29% from symptoms suspected to be colony collapse disorder. Even assuming the lower 35% mortality rate initially-reported, that would mean at least 10% of all the bees in the U.S. last year died of Colony Collapse Disorder.  Flottum goes on to report on the analysis of suspected causes of CCD to date based on the survey data.

Both the U.S. Senate and House have bills pending -- S.1694 (Boxer) and H.R.1709 (Hastings) -- that would authorize resources for sustained research and analysis to address colony collapse disorder and the decline of North American pollinators. The House bill was referred to House Committee on Agriculture; the Senate bill is in the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry.