Pennsylvania Winter Losses Exceed 60%!

[Preliminary results are available from the Bee Informed Partnership regarding the 2014/2015 winter colony losses as reported by beekeepers across the nation. Pennsylvania beekeepers reported a whopping 60.6% colony loss over the winter. The particularly cold winter contributed greatly to the die-offs. Only four other states–Oklahoma, Illinois, Iowa and Delaware–reported colony losses greater than PA’s. Nationally, this is the second highest national loss average ever recorded. –Ed.]

Note: This is a preliminary analysis. Sample sizes and estimates are likely to change. A more detailed final report is being prepared for publication in a peer-reviewed journal at a later date.

The Bee Informed Partnership (http://beeinformed.org), in collaboration with the Apiary Inspectors of America (AIA) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is releasing preliminary results for the ninth annual national survey of honey bee colony losses. For the 2014/2015 winter season, a preliminary 6,128 beekeepers in the United States provided valid responses. Collectively, these beekeepers managed 398,247 colonies in October 2014, representing about 14.5% of the country’s estimated 2.74 million managed honey bee colonies1.

About two-thirds of the respondents (67.2%) experienced winter colony loss rates greater than the average self-reported acceptable winter mortality rate of 18.7%…    
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