Colony Collapse

UC Davis researchers tracked how pesticides build up inside honeybee queens over time and discovered the queen offloads those chemicals directly into her eggs, potentially setting off a slow collapse of the whole colony.

More than 2,300 beekeepers across the country reported losing close to 40% of their honeybee colonies over the past year, with winter taking the heaviest toll on hives nationwide.

The latest Tools for Varroa Management Guide equips beekeepers with essential strategies to combat varroa mites, helping safeguard our buzzing friends and supporting local agriculture.

“January 1st we had 2.63 million honeybee colonies here in the U.S.," said Lane Honig with NASS. "That was down 1% from a year earlier. But by April 1st of this year, that number was up to 2.99 million colonies."

New research from the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service sheds light on the causes behind the catastrophic honeybee colony losses reported by commercial beekeepers this year.  The findings point to an alarmingly high level of viral infections caused by Varroa mites that have resistant genes to a common treatment.    “Our ...

A nationwide survey of beekeepers has revealed catastrophic honey bee colony losses across the United States between June 2024 and February 2025.  These alarming losses, which surpass historical trends, could significantly impact U.S. agricu...

Honey bees and their keepers have been having quite a bit of trouble keeping the colonies strong and alive. You may remember the news headlines started about 15-16 years ago. Headlines about millions of bee colonies dying off, or in some cases, the bees were just disappearing, with the nation's beekeepers losing 30 to 50% of their colonies every year...

With increased concern over pollinator die-offs, the Honeybee Health Coalition has released a new guide to help beekeepers and farmers manage Varroa Mites.  Dewey Caron is with Oregon State University’s Horticulture Department and is a Coalition member, said this edition of the Varroa Management Guide updates the number of mites deemed an actual threat to bee colonies.   “They ...

According to the USDA, during the first three months of the year, bee keepers nationwide lost about 12% of the colonies, and another 10% during the 2nd quarter.  Those losses aren't as bad as the drop we saw during the first half of 2021. ...

We recently reported that honey production across the Pacific Northwest dropped year-over-year. It doesn’t look like the PNW was the only area that saw a decrease. Honey production nationwide dropped as well. Travis Averill with NASS said this is part of an ongoing decline over the past two decades. " ...