The declining bee population is impacting Minnesota in a significant way.
A study released last month by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that mites, viruses and insecticide resistance all played a role in the loss of 62% of commercial honey bees in the U.S. from last June through this January. Until a new insecticide or something to attack the viruses is created, honey bees are still at risk.
Becky Masterman of the University of Minnesota's Bee Squad and Extension team says the rapid rate in which bee's are dying affects Minnesotans in numerous ways.
"In 1988 our bees produced over 20 million pounds of honey, and last year they reported just under seven million pounds of honey," says Masterman. "While honey production might be impacted, I think what really impacts Minnesotans today is the prices that they're paying for diverse fruits and vegetables."
Masterman says the alarm bells started to go off last year.
"The survey that was pulled together to study this had losses at 62% for commercial beekeepers, which is higher than they usually experience," she explains. "Habitat is severely compromised and we've had problems getting good nutrition into the colonies. And so, if it's hard for the honeybees, it's hard for all the pollinators out there. We also worry that when they're bringing food in that it will be contaminated with pesticides."
However, there is hope to reverse this trend says Masterman who adds a stop in spraying roadside ditches which are rich in food sources, and mowing them after the bloom.
Authors of the recent study noted that honey bees are an integral part of agriculture both in the U.S. and around the globe, as they pollinate many crops. In the U.S., they provide up to $30 billion worth of services, pollinating more than 90 commercial crops, and up to $387 billion worldwide.
Once honey bees become infected with a virus, they tend to live shorter lives. When bees start dying faster than the rate of replacement through brood rearing, their colonies are at risk of collapsing. Those colonies crashing from viral infections then pose a risk for neighboring colonies.