Nearly a third of honey bee colonies died in U.S. last winter

[xchrom]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/07/nearly-a-third-of-honey-bee-colonies-died-in-u-s-last-winter/



Nearly a third of the honey bee colonies in the United States died this past winter, sharply higher proportion than a year ago, according to an official report released Tuesday.

The US population of managed honey bee colonies fell by 31.1 percent in the October 2012-April 2013 period, said the preliminary report by the US Department of Agriculture in collaboration with the Apiary Inspectors of America and The Bee Informed Partnership.

Bees are vital pollinators in fruit and vegetable production and have been dying in significant numbers in recent years, some stricken by Colony Collapse Disorder, the sudden loss of all bees in a colony. The cause remains unknown.

The just-ended winter’s losses were 42 percent higher than in the prior winter, when 21.9 percent of the bee colonies died, but were in line with the average loss of 30.5 percent over the past six years.

[Ilsa]

1. Pesticides and insecticides are part of the

problem, it appears. Scary stuff. I worry about our food supply.

[Bay Boy]

2. In northern areas at least...

....there isn't much insecticide spraying going on past September. Is something else going on?

[LiberalEsto]

3. Rest in peace, little bees

There used to be a folk custom in Europe of "telling the bees" when someone in the family died, so the bees would not depart.

But who will we tell, when the bees have died?