Colony collapse toll is highest in four years for U.S. honeybees
Honeybee keepers reported the loss of 105,240 colonies to colony collapse disorder during the early months of this year, a 76 percent increase from last year and the highest total since 2016, said the USDA on Monday.
Looming crisis for almond industry, as bee census records highest winter losses yet
There would be no almond industry without honeybees, and honeybees are struggling mightily to keep pace with the booming almond business, as FERN’s latest story, published with HuffPost, explains. The latest bit of bad news for bees came Wednesday, with the release of an annual survey of beekeepers that recorded winter losses of nearly 38 percent, the highest winter loss rate since the survey began 13 years ago.(No paywall)
Innovation may be key for honey bees and beekeepers
Along with massive loss of honeybee colonies, the number of professional beekeepers is falling, says the Washington Post, although the number of managed bee colonies is on the rise.
Beekeepers to get more than half of $40 million disaster aid
Honeybee keepers will receive more than half of $40 million earmarked for the Emergency Assistance to Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP), said USDA.
USDA outlines quarterly and annual bee-loss surveys
Some 23,300 bee keepers nationwide would be contacted about honeybee mortality under a pair of surveys proposed by the Agriculture Department.
USDA offers $3 mln for honeybee habitat
The Natural Resources Conservation Service says it "will provide close to $3 million in technical and financial assistance for interested farmers and ranchers to help improve the health of bees, which play an...