42% of USA bees died last year.

[Perry]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/42-of-honeybee-hives-killed-off-in-u-s-last-year-1.3072845

[Gypsi]

A lot of the losses were not winter losses either, I saw the graph somewhere.

[tbonekel]

Chief beekeeper for Bayer. Now that right there is pretty odd. I wonder if they spray near those hives.

[Jen]

I don't think that Bayer has hives! I think they are pretending to have hives and to care about bees ~

[Ray]

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/survey-more-than-40-percent-of-bee-hives-died-in-past-year/ar-BBjIVpb?ocid=sf

Survey: More than 40 percent of bee hives died in past year

What shocked the entomologists is that is the first time they've noticed bees dying more in the summer than the winter, said vanEngelsdorp said. The survey found beekeepers lost 27.4 percent of their colonies this summer. That's up from 19.8 percent the previous summer.

Dick Rogers, chief beekeeper for pesticide-maker Bayer, said the loss figure is "not unusual at all" and said the survey shows an end result of more colonies now than before: 2.74 million hives in 2015, up from 2.64 million in 2014.

http://us1.campaign-archive1.com/?u=5fd2b1aa990e63193af2a573d&id=b5776148ff&e=36c4f411cf

Nation's Beekeepers Lost 40 Percent
of Their Bees in 2014-15
 

The survey is part of a larger research effort to understand why honey bee colonies are in such poor health, and what can be done to manage the situation. Colony losses present a financial burden for beekeepers, and can lead to shortages among the many crops that depend on honey bees as pollinators. Some crops, such as almonds, depend entirely on honey bees for pollination. Estimates of the total economic value of honey bee pollination services range between $10 billion and $15 billion annually.

"The winter loss numbers are more hopeful especially combined with the fact that we have not seen much sign of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) for several years, but such high colony losses in the summer and year-round remain very troubling," said Jeffery Pettis, a senior entomologist at U.S. Department of Agriculture and a co-coordinator of the survey. "If beekeepers are going to meet the growing demand for pollination services, researchers need to find better answers to the host of stresses that lead to both winter and summer colony losses."

[Ray]

"Rogers, chief beekeeper for pesticide-maker Bayer, said the loss figure is "not unusual at all" and said the survey shows an end result of more colonies now than before: 2.74 million hives in 2015, up from 2.64 million in 2014."

42% is still 42%, whether it's of 100 or 10000 or 100000000.  42% of 2.74 million colonies is 1,150,000 colonies!

[LazyBkpr]

I cant imagine that they have ANY meaningful data on the number of hives and or hive losses up to and before the time of internet accessibility.  Getting that type of data would have taken an army of inspectors.. 
   Even today with the internet, getting meaningful numbers seems a little difficult..   No one has come to my place asking questions. No one has gone to any beekeeper I know and asked how many hives, how many died etc..  My loss was 30% but that loss was not because of any of the mentioned problems..  I know why I lost hives, and it wont happen again.  My previous losses added up to less than 6% a year, the exception being when I ordered packages.
  Winter before last I lost a single hive while the CLAIM was of an average 70% loss statewide.

  I think a lot of loss has more to do with management and genetics than it does any other contributing factor.

   I often see claims that the heavy losses are "OK" because beekeepers can split to make up losses...
   No.
   Yes we can split, but that does not "MAKE UP" for losses.. those split hives are weaker, will not produce as much, and represent labor, effort and time that is un compensated. While I do not typically see the high number of losses, if they are true beyond my own area of living and life, then perhaps, concentrating on the bees a bit more than outside influences might yield better results.   Just my own thoughts, based solely from personal experience..

[Jen]

"While I do not typically see the high number of losses, if they are true beyond my own area of living and life, then perhaps, concentrating on the bees a bit more than outside influences might yield better results.

     

[Ray]

Please read these articles.
I'll agree somewhat with LazyBkpr about genetics and PPBKing. There are a lot of missed colonies in the USA and Canada. The sensationalizing of anything close to newsworthy also comes into play.
Still:
Winter loss rates decreased from 23.7 percent last year to 23.1 percent this year, while summer loss rates increased from 19.8 percent to 27.4 percent.
Why did winter losses decrease and summer losses increase?

[Perry]

I have to agree that the comment that there are now more colonies in years past is a poor argument. Having more colonies that are "probably" in poor health is not something to brag about (Bayer). Like LazyBkpr mentioned, that also comes with a huge cost to the beekeepers having to make those splits.

[pistolpete]

I don't pretend to know a whole lot about commercial bee keeping, so correct me if you please.   My impression is that the large commercial bee keepers are to a large extent to blame for their losses.  Trucking bees all over the country to pollinate 10 to 15 different monoculture crops is a huge strain on the colonies.  So is continuously re-arranging then into one box pollination units.   So is taking their honey and feeding them the cheapest bulk sugar and HFCS they can lay their hands on.   When you take those major stresses and add in a host of minor ones like varroa and a cocktail of pesticides, you get the results we are seeing.

I have no doubt that commercial bee keepers care about their stock, but they ought to examine their own management practices before pointing fingers.   I seriously doubt that small scale bee keepers are experiencing much more than 10% losses on average.

[Jen]

Nicely put Pete 

"So is taking their honey and feeding them the cheapest bulk sugar and HFCS they can lay their hands on.

    Really grips my bum!

[Ray]

"42% of 2.74 million colonies is 1,150,000 colonies!"
That means that way over a million queens are produced each year. How can you have quality with those kind of numbers? How can you have genetic diversity with those kind of numbers?
Then you produce packages and nucs in the South and the West Coast and sell them North out of those high quality queens.
The migratory Beeks charge across the country dispersing swarms of less than quality bees. Polluting the local gene pool and bring pests and diseases with them.
 

Maybe we're luck to bee at ONLY 42%

[Gypsi]

I had a 33% loss - for 2015 winter loss.

I had about 50% for 2014, one of the hives that swarmed left a new queen who did eventually return. But I have a severe drought (well had, now I have severe wet ground) and not a lot of time to deal with the bees and do swarm prevention.  as far as actual deadouts I have lost about 1 hive a year since I started, except for my EFB year when I lost over half my hives. the percentage depends on how many I had at the time.   Now with too much rain apparently there will also be no honey. Mother nature hates North Texas