butterflies, moths and bumblebees were found
to be at risk, too.
However, beekeepers’ losses have remained
steady over the last five years, with
beekeepers losing about half their honeybee
colonies annually.
Pennsylvania’s beekeepers have lost about have
their colonies each year over the past five years,
according to data from nonprofit Bee
Informed Partnership.
And bees’ worth to people is only increasing.
In 2007, the state’s Department of Agriculture
estimated that each honeybee colony provided
$1,659.21 to Pennsylvania’s economy. Last year,
the commonwealth’s apiary industry was worth
more than an estimated $76 million.
It’s not just Pennsylvania feeling the economic
and environmental impact as colonies collapse.
Honeybees are moved around the country to
pollinate crops such as blueberries, almonds
and apples. That’s why it’s important to ensure
the health of both commercial and backyard
honeybee colonies critical to food production
and supply.
Today, Snellen and other local experts point to a
handful of key factors responsible for the largest
die-offs:
PESTICIDES AND MITES
Over the last few decades, pesticides have
become what beekeepers say are a necessary evil
among crop farmers. But those chemicals coat the
seeds of many crops, and the amount of pesticides
that reside on plants that honeybees pollinate is a
huge factor in bees dying off.