Reasons Behind the Decline of

Honey Bee Colonies in the US

Kristina Millerova
941/3402 Research Writing
Final presentation

0. Contents
1. Background info
2. Possible reasons behind honey bee colonies decline
A. Weather
B. Socioeconomic factors
C. Change of bee diet and lifestyle
D.Pesticides
E. Diseases and parasites
F. Chemical residues in hives
G.Genetic variability and quality of queen bees
H.Colony collapse disorder
3. Summary
4. Possible solutions
5. References

1. Background Info
The annual value of honey bee pollination in the US in 2009 = $17
billion (Calderone, 2012, p.13).
Crops directly dependent on honey bee pollination: fruit trees, berries, coffee,
Crops indirectly dependent (for seed production): vegetables, forage crops, oilseed crops

BUT

Number of bee colonies declining

1947 - about 5.9 million honey bee colonies in the US (USDA, 1948, p.3)
2011/12 about 2.49 million colonies (USDA, 2013, p.2)

Significantly higher level of average winter losses in the last 25 years

Until 1980 - the average winter losses about 5-10% (vanEngelsdorf, 2008, p.4)
After 1980 - increase to average 15-20% and growing
2012/13 - average 34% in (Johnson & Corn, 2013, p.11-12).
More than 50% of beekeepers, mainly the non-professional ones, report even higher winter
losses of about 55% (Johnson & Corn, 2013, p. 11-12; USDA, 2013).

What if the bee decline continues?

WHAT ARE THE REASONS? CAN WE STOP IT?

2. Possible reasons behind honey bee

colonies decline
A. WEATHER
The life of honey bees is very complex
Not all factors can be influenced by humans, for
instance, weather
In the last sixty years no significant changes in the
weather pattern

Weather unlikely the reason for the long term decline

2. Possible reasons behind honey bee colonies decline

B. SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS

After 1945 - major changes in the society,

including agriculture

1950-1960 - Urbanization, intensification of agriculture,

introduction of affordable sugar-based products and cheap
honey imports

Decrease in the number of beekeepers and bee colonies

Change in structure of beekeepers

Instead of small local beekeepers, big commercial beekeepers that migrate
(2 mil. out of total 2.6 mil. colonies in the US in 2013)
(Johnson & Corn, 2013, p.6).

2. Possible reasons behind honey bee colonies decline

C. CHANGE OF BEE DIET AND LIFESTYLE
New agricultural practices, urbanization, the high
share of developed land and used of herbicides

Food desert (monocultures)

Decline of quality bee pasture impact on their nutrition

Malnourished colonies more prone to diseases

2. Possible reasons behind honey bee colonies decline

D. PESTICIDES
High use of pesticides and herbicides since WWII (to
control weeds, fungi and pests)

Direct
poisoning
Legal
measures

Sub-lethal effects
visible after a longer period of
exposure
pesticide residues in pollen and
beeswax
pesticides affect the immune system
of honey bees, their behavior and
communication
more research needed

2. Possible reasons behind honey bee colonies decline

E. DISEASES AND PARASITES
Traditional diseases and parasites
foulbrood and chalkbrood, nosema apis
New diseases and parasites
Varroa mites (since 1987)
prior the introduction of varroa mites, the US beekeepers reported 5-10% winter
losses, while in the mid 1980s the losses grew to 15-25% (vanEngelsdorf, 2008, p.4)
without preventive chemical miticide treatment 80-90% of colonies in the US would die
within 2-3 years (Spivak, Mader, Vaugan, Euliss, 2011, p.35).
Nosema ceranae (since 1995) no treatment available
Phorid fly (since 2009) no treatment available

2. Possible reasons behind honey bee colonies decline

F. CHEMICAL RESIDUES IN HIVES

Preventive use of antibiotics and miticides leads to higher survival

rates
When antibiotics are used, 10% lower losses are detected; with varroa control
products, losses are 26% lower
(BeeInformed, 2012-2013, National Management Survey; Varroa Control Summary;
Bacterial Brood Disease Summary).

BUT
The residues of chemical treatment remain in hives and negatively
impact bee health
reproductive capacity and the immune system of queen bees affected (Mullin, 2010)
varroa mites and bacterial diseases becoming resistant to these chemicals

2. Possible reasons behind honey bee colonies decline

G. GENETIC VARIABILITY AND QUALITY OF QUEEN BEES
Chemical treatment suppresses natural selection
reproduction of bees with lower resistance to parasites and diseases

The majority of queen bees is produced by a low number of

breeders, which limits the genetic variability of honey bees in the US
About one million queens are produced each year from less than 600 mother
queens (Spivak, 2012, p.20)

The bad quality of queen bees mentioned by the US beekeepers as

the most commonly suspected cause of a colony loss (vanEngelsdorp
et al., 2008, p.4)

2. Possible reasons behind honey bee colonies decline

H. COLONY COLLAPSE DISORDER

2006 first massive incidents of Colony Collapse

Disorder in the US
In 2008, 48% of lost colonies were attributed to CCD
causes of CCD remain unknown
? a combination of a cumulative long-term influence of
pesticides, beekeeper-applied chemicals, poor nutrition,
parasites and stress (vanEngelsdorp, 2009)
OR
? an unknown pathogen (Smith, 2014, p. 439).

3. Summary
The decline in the number of colonies in the period from 1947 to the 1960s can
be attributed to significant socioeconomic changes in the American society
BUT at the current state of knowledge it is not possible to determine the crucial
factors for the honey bee decline in the last decades - these seem to be multiple
and interacting
The current annual colony loss rates of commercial beekeepers, though significantly
higher compared to previous decades, remain lower compared to the loss rates of smaller
beekeepers
In 2013, commercial beekeepers reported losses of 30%; backyard beekeepers reported
45% losses; in 2012, it was 20% vs. 26% (Management Survey Results 2012, 2013).
The influence of commercial beekeeping practices (migration to monocultures, use of
supplements for feeding, higher use of miticides) on the current honey bee losses might
be less significant than expected

the most important might be the limited genetic diversity of bees and their
lower natural resistance to parasites and diseases

4. Possible Solutions
Let the bees be? - Not really possible, we need them now.
Research and development of more resistant bee traits yes (but long
term and unclear results)
Research and development of new preventive treatment yes (but it
doesnt solve the problem and can cause new troubles)

Help the bees be healthy YES!!!

Reintroduction of bee-friendly wildflowers into our habitat
Elimination or lower use of pesticides and herbicides

Thank you for your attention!

Questions?

5. References
Calderone, N.W. (2012). Insect Pollinated Crops, insect pollinators and US agriculture: Trend analysis of aggregate data for the period 1992-2009. Plos One, 7 (5).
Johnson, R., & Corn, M.L. (2013, August 27).Bee health: Background and issues for congress. Washington: Congresional Research Service. Retrieved from website:
http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43191.pdf
Mullin, C.A., Frazier, M., Frazier, J.L., Ashcraft, S., Simonds, R. vanEngelsdorp, D., & Pettis J.S. (2010). High levels of miticides and agrochemicals in North American
apiaries: Implications for honey bee healt.
Plos One, 5(3).
Smith, K.M., Loh, E.H., Rostal, M.K., Zambrana-Torrelio, C.M., Mediola, L., & Daszak, P. (2013). Pathogens, pests, and economics: Drivers of honey bee colony declines
and losses. EcoHealth, 10, 434-445.
Spivak, M., Mader, E., Vaugan, M., & Euliss, N.H. (2011). The Plight of the Bees. Environmental Science and Technology, 45 (1), 34-38.
Spivak, M. (2012).Current state of knowledge of bee genetics, breeding and best management practices. InReport on the National Stakeholders Conference on
Honey Bee Health: National Honey Bee Health
Stakeholder Conference Steering Committee. (p.20). Retrieved from
http://www.usda.gov/documents/ReportHoneyBeeHealth.pdf
The Bee Informed Partnership. (2013). Management Survey Results 2013: Loss by Operation Size. Retrieved from website:
http://beeinformed.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/8_LossByOperationSize.pdf
The Bee Informed Partnership. (2012). Management Survey Results 2012: Loss by Operation Size. Retrieved from website:
http://beeinformed.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/loss-by-operation-size.pdf
The Bee Informed Partnership. (2012). Management Survey Results 2012: Reported average loss by operation type. Retrieved from website: http://
beeinformed.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/reported- average-loss-by-operation-type-migratory.pdf
The Bee Informed Partnership. (2013). Management Survey Results 2013: Reported average loss by operation type. Retrieved from website: http://
beeinformed.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/03/11_ReportedAverageLossByOperationTypeMigratoryX.pdf
The Bee Informed Partnership. (2013). National Management Survey 2012-2013: Varroa Control Summary.
Retrieved from website: http://beeinformed.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/2.-VarroaControlSummary.pdf
US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Statistics Board. (1948). Honey Production. Retrieved from website:
http://usda01.library.cornell.edu/usda/nass/HoneProd//1940s/1948/HoneProd-01-23-1948.pdf
US Department of Agriculture, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Agricultural Statistics Board. (2013). Honey Production. Retrieved from website:

http