Wet weather and mites devastate bee populations

Flowers and bee

A combination of pesticide-resistant mites and wet weather has devastated bee populations in parts of the US, wiping out more than half of Maryland's bees this winter and devastating hives in many regions of the country. Beekeepers are now struggling to rebuild their colonies, while farmers who rely on the insects to pollinate their crops have had difficulty finding available hives to place in their fields.

Vermont, the largest honey producer in New England, lost 20 percent of its hives. Some keepers along the East Coast had significant losses this winter, approaching 80 to 90 percent of their colonies in some cases.

The bee shortage started last summer, when heavy rains washed away much of the flower nectar that bees collect to make honey, the food they depend on during winter months. Many colonies weren't able to store up the roughly 60 pounds they need to survive the winter, leading to starvation. Beekeepers fed sugar to their hives but couldn't make up for the honey shortage.

Commercial beekeepers are calling it one of the worst seasons they have experienced in the past 30 years and are scrambling to meet the demand from farmers who depend on bees to pollinate their watermelons, apples, strawberries and other crops that flower each spring and summer.

Even with modern farming equipment, bees are the most efficient pollinators of crops, producing healthier and larger fruits and vegetables. They can average 20,000 per hive. A University study estimated that regular honeybee pollination adds between $5 billion to $20 billion of value to crop production each year nationally.

Source: The Washington Times