U.S. Beekeepers report losing 44 percent of colonies over the last year

The nation’s honey bees are still in trouble, a report released Tuesday shows. Beekeepers reported losing 44 percent of their total number of colonies managed over the last year, close to the highest annual loss in the past six years. The Bee Informed Partnership, in collaboration with the Apiary Inspectors of America, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture released its annual report. The results are preliminary and could change. Go to https://beeinformed.org/results/colony-loss-2015-2016-preliminary-resul…

The losses are considered too high to be sustainable for U.S. agriculture and the beekeeping industry. Bees colonies have been decimated in recent years by the mysterious Colony Collapse Disorder, vampires mites, nutritional deficiencies and pesticides.

“These honey bee losses reinforce what science continues to tell us; we must take immediate action to restrict pesticides contributing to bee declines,” said Tiffany Finck-Haynes, food futures campaigner with Friends of the Earth.

Source: Palm Beach Post, May 10, 2016
http://protectingyourpocket.blog.palmbeachpost.com/2016/05/10/beekeeper…