“So it’s not like we can just ban a certain type of
insecticide and we’ll be fine,” Edwards said. “It’s
not that we can cure the varroa mite problem
and we’ll be fine. There are many complex
challenges that are really hard to separate from
each other.”
LOSS OF HABITAT
As the state’s agriculture industry grows and
farmers work to increase yields, both native
pollinators and managed, nonnative honeybees
are losing their habitats, another key issue when
researchers and scientists look at colony collapses
and annual losses.
“Agricultural practices have changed that there’s
almost no weeds on the borders of our fields, in
the fields,” Edwards said. “And if you’re a farmer,
that’s a good thing. If you’re a farmer, you don’t
want to have lots of weeds in your fields —
I get it.”
But it’s not good for the bees — what might
look like a just a patch of weeds to people is
home for the honeybees and vital to other native
pollinators, he said.
Dense agricultural areas, like in Monroe County,
have proven to be an issue for honeybees,
Jeremy White of Pocono Apiaries said. He lost
about 50% of his bees last year, and said other
beekeepers in the area are facing similar losses.
“We need those farms, for sure,” he said,
explaining that corn and alfalfa are good crops
for people and the agricultural industry. “But that
is not good for the bees.”
Honeybees need pollen-producing plants, like
dandelions, White said.