This is the second largest die-off recorded over the past 9 years, according to the annual survey which is published by the Department of Agriculture.
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40% of Bee Colonies Have Collapsed in the Past Year
According to a federal survey that tracked the number of bee colonies between April of 2014 and 2015, more than 2 out of 5 of the hives have died in that period. This is the second largest die off recorded over the past 9 years. Many of the hives are expected to recover, and this year showed a (very) slight increase in the total number of hives over last year. However, the health of species is still in jeopardy as beekeepers are forced to divide their surviving colonies into smaller segments, stretching them to their limits.
What shocked researchers the most was the fact that the majority of the die-offs occurred in the summer, which was the first time they noticed the trend. 27.4% of the colonies collapsed last summer compared to 19.8% from the previous season. One researcher claimed it would be just as strange as finding lower flu rates in the winter, and added “You just don’t expect colonies to die at this rate in the summer.”
According the scientists behind the study, the chief cause of these deaths is a combination of mites, poor nutrition, and pesticides. If the study is correct, then there could be a correlation between the large death rates and the warm growing seasons that see significantly higher pesticide usage.
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Contributed by Joshua Krause of The Daily Sheeple.
Joshua Krause is a reporter, writer and researcher at The Daily Sheeple. He was born and raised in the Bay Area and is a freelance writer and author. You can follow Joshua’s reports at Facebook or on his personal Twitter. Joshua’s website is Strange Danger .
