Honeybee populations are shrinking at an alarmingly fast rate in the United States, and new research shows New York state is not immune to the problem.
Several issues are hurting honeybee populations – including extreme weather and pesticides – but a recent study by the New York State Beekeeper Tech Team led by scientists from Cornell University has brought attention to a bigger problem – the varroa mite.
The team examined 309 honeybee colonies from 70 apiaries across New York last fall and found 90 percent were infested by the varroa mite.
“The numbers are out of sight,” said David Hopkins, who owns Sky Barn Apiaries in Willseyville and has worked with the team in the past. “Pollinator protection is a serious business and we need to do more.”
Research also discovered deformed wing virus in 96 percent of the colonies and in all 70 apiaries included in the study.
“When colonies have high levels of deformed wing virus, the affected bees are unable to fly and die at a young age,” Emma Mullen, the team’s leader, told the media relations office. “It can be quite detrimental – varroa mites and their associated viruses are a leading cause of death for honeybee colonies.”
The loss of bees could be crippling for agricultural production in New York state, with many crops dependent on bee pollinators. Apples, which is the state’s leading fruit crop, along with cherries, strawberries and squash, are among the crops reliant on bees.
Hopkins said bees are needed for agriculture and suggests hobbyists could play a major role in helping the insect rebound.
“Commercial operators and sideline operators are having much higher incidents of varroa, and hobbyists are having greater success in keeping the numbers down,” Hopkins said. “We need to rely on informed hobbyists.
“We need 50,000 gardeners with a (colony) in their garden.”
Statistics by the United States Department of Agriculture said varroa mites were the number one stressor for operations with five or more colonies during each of the quarters surveyed.
Cornell researchers also discovered 78 percent of the apiaries in the study had varroa mite levels which exceed the economic threshold of three mites per 100 bees, signaling the colony will die within two years or experience reduced honey production.
Hopkins, who has more than 40 years of experience, said beekeepers used to fight the varroa mite using powdered sugar, but the increased number of viruses have forced beekeepers to look for other ways.
The beekeeper team found only 36 percent of apiaries were monitoring mites and is helping to assist beekeepers by surveying their populations for pesticides, viruses, mites and other parasites.
“We are committed to helping beekeepers maintain their business and help our farmers in the process,” Scott McArt, assistant professor in the Department of Entomology, told Cornell media relations. “We can see if there is year-to-year variation or if there are consistently certain types of management practices that are much better for beekeepers than others.”
