Nation's beekeepers lost 40 percent of bees in 2014-15

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-05/uom-nbl051115.php

Public Release: 13-May-2015
University of Maryland

Beekeepers across the United States lost more than 40 percent of their honey bee colonies during the year spanning April 2014 to April 2015, according to the latest results of an annual nationwide survey. While winter loss rates improved slightly compared to last year, summer losses--and consequently, total annual losses--were more severe. Commercial beekeepers were hit particularly hard by the high rate of summer losses, which outstripped winter losses for the first time in five years, stoking concerns over the long-term trend of poor health in honey bee colonies.

•••••