The Return of Honeybees

Honeybees are tiny pollinators that help farmers grow all kinds of produce. Without the insects, many flowering plants couldn’t make seeds, nuts, or fruit. We’ve been losing bees since the 1950s because of parasites, pesticides, and loss of habitat.

Beginning a decade ago a mysterious phenomenon left up to 90 percent of U.S. beehives empty. Worker bees—which do everything for the colony but lay eggs—began leaving home for no known reason. Without them, the queens and the young starved. This led to the demise of many hives. Scientists named the phenomenon colony collapse disorder, or CCD. 

Honeybees are tiny pollinators that help farmers grow all kinds of food. Flowering plants need the insects to make seeds, nuts, and fruits. But we’ve been losing bees since the 1950s. Parasites, pesticides, and loss of habitat have caused their populations to drop.

A mysterious phenomenon started a decade ago. It left up to 90 percent of U.S. beehives empty. Worker bees left home for no known reason. This type of bee does everything for the colony but lay eggs. Without them, the queens and the young starved. This led to the death of many hives. Scientists named the phenomenon colony collapse disorder, or CCD. 

The massive bee losses due to CCD caught the public’s attention, says May Berenbaum, an entomologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Thanks to the attention and more funding for research, scientists now have better ways to monitor honeybees and their hives.

One is the Honey Bee Colony report, which was established in 2015. More than 3,500 beekeepers across the U.S. keep track of colony loss, new colonies, and overall colony health. Every three months, they submit data to the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). Joshua O’Rear is the statistician responsible for organizing and writing the report. “We are still building a baseline of what’s normal and what isn’t normal,” says O’Rear.

Honeybees are tiny pollinators that help farmers grow all kinds of food. Flowering plants need the insects to make seeds, nuts, and fruits. But we’ve been losing bees since the 1950s. Parasites, pesticides, and loss of habitat have caused their populations to drop.

A mysterious phenomenon started a decade ago. It left up to 90 percent of U.S. beehives empty. Worker bees left home for no known reason. This type of bee does everything for the colony but lay eggs. Without them, the queens and the young starved. This led to the death of many hives. Scientists named the phenomenon colony collapse disorder, or CCD. 

The latest results show that in April 2017, year-over-year honeybee colony numbers increased by a significant percentage in the spring for the first time since NASS started the report two years ago.

That same report suggests that a parasite called the varroa mite might now be a bigger threat to bees than CCD. These mites suck the blood of honeybees and transmit deadly viruses. Varroa mites affected more than 40 percent of colonies. Pesticides are usually used to control varroa mites in beehives, but those pesticides can also harm bees. 

Berenbaum’s lab is also studying bee nutrition to figure out what diet can best protect bees from harmful pesticides. “Bees are the world’s most important managed pollinators,” she says. As beekeepers learn more, they can take better care of their honeybees.

The latest results are hopeful. They show that in April 2017, year-over-year honeybee colony numbers increased by a significant percentage. This marks the first significant increase in the spring since NASS started the report two years ago.

But that same report suggests another threat. A parasite called the varroa mite might now cause more loss of bees than CCD. These mites suck the blood of honeybees and transmit deadly viruses. Varroa mites affected more than 40 percent of colonies. Pesticides are usually used to control varroa mites in beehives. But those pesticides can also harm bees.

Berenbaum’s lab is also studying bee nutrition. She wants to figure out what diet can best protect bees from harmful pesticides. “Bees are the world’s most important managed pollinators,” she says. As beekeepers learn more, they can take better care of their honeybees.