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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Bee Research Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #325952
Title: A national survey of managed honey bee 2014 - 2015 annual colony losses in the USA

Author
item SEITZ, NICOLA - University Of Maryland
item TRAYNOR, KIRSTEN - University Of Maryland
item VANENGELSDORP, DENNIS - University Of Maryland
item STEINHAUER, NATHALIE - University Of Maryland
item RENNICH, KAREN - University Of Maryland
item WILSON, MICHAEL - University Of Tennessee
item ELLIS, JAMES - University Of Florida
item ROSE, ROBYN - Animal And Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS)
item TARPY, DAVID - North Carolina State University
item SAGILI, RAMESH - Oregon State University
item CARON, DEWEY - Oregon State University
item DELAPLANE, KEITH - University Of Georgia
item RANGEL, JULIANA - Texas A&M University
item LEE, KATHLEEN - University Of Minnesota
item BAYLISS, KATHY - University Of Illinois
item WILKES, JAMES - Appalachian State University
item SKINNER, JOHN - University Of Tennessee
item Pettis, Jeffery

Submitted to: Journal of Apicultural Research
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/6/2016
Publication Date: 8/12/2016
Citation: Seitz, N., Traynor, K.S., Vanengelsdorp, D., Steinhauer, N., Rennich, K., Wilson, M., Ellis, J., Rose, R., Tarpy, D., Sagili, R., Caron, D., Delaplane, K., Rangel, J., Lee, K., Bayliss, K., Wilkes, J., Skinner, J., Pettis, J.S. 2016. A national survey of managed honey bee 2014 - 2015 annual colony losses in the USA. Journal of Apicultural Research. doi: 10.1080/00218839.2016.1153294.

Interpretive Summary: Declines in pollinators and high mortality rates of honey bee colonies are a major concern, both in the USA and globally. Total reported losses were 25.3 % over the summer, 22.3% over the winter and 40.6% for the entire 2014-2015 beekeeping year. While total winter losses were lower in 2014-2015 than in previous years, summer losses remained high, resulting in total annual colony losses of more than 40 % during the survey period. It was the first year that total losses were higher in the summer than in the winter, explained in large part by commercial beekeepers reporting losses of 26.2 % of their managed colonies during summer compared to 20.5 % during winter. More than two-thirds of all beekeepers (67.3 %) had higher colony losses than they deemed acceptable.

Technical Abstract: Declines in pollinators and high mortality rates of honey bee colonies are a major concern, both in the USA and globally. Winter losses in this most recent survey include 5,937 valid participants (5,690 backyard, 169 sideline, and 78 commercial beekeepers), collectively managing 414,267 colonies on 1 October 2014 and constituting 15.1 % of the estimated 2.74 million managed colonies in the USA. Total reported losses were 25.3 % [95 % CI 24.7 - 25.9 %] over the summer, 22.3 % [95 % CI 21.9 - 22.8 %] over the winter, and 40.6 % [95 % CI 40.0 - 41.2 %] for the entire 2014 - 2015 beekeeping year. Average losses were 14.7 % [95 % CI 14.0 - 15.3 %] over the summer, 43.7 % [95 % CI 42.8 - 44.6 %] over the winter, and 49.0 % [95 % CI 48.1 - 50.0 %] over the entire year. While total winter losses were lower in 2014-2015 than in previous years, summer losses remained high, resulting in total annual colony losses of more than 40 % during the survey period. It was the first year that total losses were higher in the summer than in the winter, explained in large part by commercial beekeepers reporting losses of 26.2 % of their managed colonies during summer compared to 20.5 % during winter. More than two-thirds of all beekeepers (67.3 %) had higher colony losses than they deemed acceptable.