Honeybee Deaths Are Surging in ‘Alarming’ Numbers: ‘Something Real Bad is Going On’

Honeybees are dying in “alarming” numbers in the United States, according to a recent survey of hundreds of beekeepers.

The nonprofit Project Apis m., which supports the beekeeping community, found that commercial beekeepers in the U.S. reported an average loss of 62% of their colonies. Data for the survey was collected from 702 beekeepers who accounted for roughly 1.8 million bee colonies, which the organization notes represents about 68% of the country’s bee population. 

Scott McArt, an associate professor of entomology at Cornell University, recently expressed his concerns for the bee population in an interview with The Guardian, "Something real bad is going on this year," he said.

Bees on a flower (stock image). 

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McArt also shared that bee loss has been "getting worse."

"Some places are having devastating losses and there was a shortfall in pollination in some almond orchards this year," the associate professor said. "Whether these impacts will cascade to other crops remains to be seen, it’s certainly possible."

Earlier this month, Washington State University entomologists reported that commercial honeybee colony losses could reach up to 70% in the U.S. in 2025. The number is an increase of about 20% from previous years.

Priya Chakrabarti Basu, assistant professor of pollinator health and apiculture at WSU, suggested that the colony losses can be due to a variety of factors, including nutrition deficiencies, infestations, disease and pesticide exposure. 

Bees on honeycombs (stock image). 

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Blake Shook, a top beekeeper in the U.S., told CBS Saturday Morning in March that he has lost "tens of thousands" of bees at his businesses. "The data is showing us this is the worst bee loss in recorded history," he said.

Ultimately, Shook said that the decline in the bee population will "change the way we consume food in the United States" if it continues.

"If we lose 80% of our bees every year, the industry cannot survive, which means we cannot pollinate at the scale that we need to produce food in the United States," the beekeeper said, noting that the buzzing insects are particularly important when it comes to pollinating almond trees.

"There is no almond crop without honeybees," he explained. 

According to the USDA, honeybees are not native to the U.S., although they "pollinate $15 billion worth of crops" nationwide every year. The bees, as suggested by their name, also produce honey.