2017 Bee Report

David Glover, The Bartlett Bee Whisperer, talks about the latest science about bees. The official numbers for the past year show that in the state of Tennessee, beekeepers lost about half their bees.  David says this number looks scary but you need to look beyond the number to where the number came from. In Tennessee only 60 beekeepers reported their losses. The thousands of other beekeepers did not report numbers either way. So the losses are probably less than was reported, possible much less. In the United States, we are at an all-time high of number of colonies. The largest number of bee losses happen with migratory beekeepers. They move their bee hives around the country over the course of the year. Their bees come in contact with many other colonies that are also moving around and can pass diseases or other problems back and forth.
The USDA says that the number one killer of bees is the varroa mite. In addition to the damage the mite does on its own, varroa is the vector for many bee diseases. The number two reason colonies die is starvation. Pesticides do not make the top ten on the list.
A month ago, there was a study from Europe about neonicotinoids and bees. The study was conducted in Germany, Hungary and the UK. It found that neonicotinoids harmed bees but David points out several problems with the study and other factors that could have causes hive loss. 

2016-2017 USDA Bee Losses Report: Preliminary: 2016-2017 State Total and Average Losses

September 30, 2017

Related Videos:
Basic Beekeeping
2016 Bee Report
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Related Resources:
Bee Informed web site
Honey Bees and Bee Keeping
​Eco-Friendly Garden: Attracting Pollinators, Beneficial Insects, and Other Natural Predators