Bee Informed Partnership Beekeeper Surveys DECLINE IN US HONEY BEE COLONIES SINCE WORLD WAR ii 1945 45 MILLION COLONIES 2015 27 MILLION COLONIES 15 loss is the highest sustainable level for those whose living depends on beekeeping ID: 286301
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Slide1
US Honey Bee Colony Decline
Bee Informed Partnership
Beekeeper SurveysSlide2
DECLINE IN US HONEY BEE COLONIES SINCE WORLD WAR ii
1945
4.5 MILLION
COLONIES
2015
2.7 MILLION
COLONIESSlide3Slide4
“15% loss is the highest sustainable level for those whose living depends on beekeeping”
Marla
Spivak
Dept of Entomology University of MinnesotaSlide5Slide6
“Among backyard beekeepers – defined as those who manage fewer than 50 colonies – a clear culprit in losses is the
Varroa
mite”
“Backyard beekeepers were more prone to heavy mite infestations, but we believe that is because a majority of them are not taking appropriate steps to control mites” Slide7
THE NUMBER OF BEEKEEPERS IS DECLINING AS THE HONEY BEE POPULATION DECLINESSlide8
Hobbyists quickly become discouraged by heavy losses and quit beekeeping
Commercial beekeepers are an aging demographic
As aging commercial beekeepers retire they are not being replaced by new young commercial beekeepersSlide9
“Commercial beekeepers were particularly prone to summer losses. But they typically take more aggressive action against
Varroa
mites, so there
must be other factors
at play.”
Dennis vanEngelsdorp Dept of Entomology
University of MarylandSlide10
Pesticides
Varroa
In hive
miticides
Flowerless
landscape
Diseases
Monoculture
agriculture
Multiple, Interacting Causes of Honey Bee DeathsSlide11
Troubling findings: LABELing
Pesticides:
Active ingredients listed
Inert ingredients not listed (often toxic)
Human medications:
Active ingredients listed
Inert ingredients listedSlide12
GMO CROPS
NOT HARMFUL
to honey bees
GMOs allow the use of herbicides which kill other flowering plantsSlide13
HONEY BEE Nutrition
NECTAR
- Carbohydrates
POLLEN
-protein, lipids, vitamins WATER
Healthy honey bees:
- able to detoxify pesticides
- better able to survive cold weatherSlide14
Absence of
of flowering plants creates
“food deserts”
Result:
unhealthy bees
varieties
abundantSlide15
Unhealthy honey bees:
- Less able to detoxify pesticides
- Compromised immune systems
More susceptible to
various viruses
Less hardy in both
winter & summerSlide16
RESULT:
HIGH ANNUAL COLONY MORTALITY