According to a survey conducted by the University of Maryland and Auburn University, beekeepers lost 48% of their colonies in the year that ended on April 1, 2023. This was the second worst year on record for the deaths of honey bees in the United States. You can read the survey info here.
Colony loss seen in UAE, Canada, and Europe
In the United Arab Emirates, beekeepers in 2023 produced half as much honey as they did five years ago.
Canada saw a 17% loss in hives over the winter of 2022 - 2023.
Central Europe saw a 12% loss in hives over the winter of 2022 - 2023.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Varroa destructor is responsible for 29% of all honey bee losses. You can read the full report here.
New Zealand’s bee colony loss was at an all-time high in 2021, with 2022 being a close second. You can read more here.
Healthy bees means food security
According to Berkeley University, "in North America, pollination is integral to the production of at least 90 commercial crops, which account for 15-30 percent of the typical American's diet." This means one third of all of the food eaten in America exists because of pollinators.
According to Relief Web, there was a 10% increase from 2022 to 2023 in the number of people experiencing food insecurity globally. This translates to 238 million people facing high levels of acute food insecurity globally.
Bees and pollinators are keystone species in our ecosystems. This means that many other species rely on their success, and their failure could cause the failure of a network of species.
According to the US Department of agriculture, "Honey bees alone pollinate 80 percent of all flowering plants, including more than 130 types of fruits and vegetables".
In 2017, AAFC estimated "direct losses" of honeybee colonies at $2.57B. In that same year they estimated crop production loss at $4 to $5.5 billion. At current market values, this would represent $500B in global production losses.
Bees are responsible for $15 - 30B or productivity per year in the U.S., with $4.8B being attributed to the almond industry alone, according to research from Berkeley University.
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