USDA Reports 2014 – 2015 Honey Bee Colony Losses Hit 42% — Obama Task Force Outlines Help for Pollinators

“The federal government came out a couple of weeks ago with their
loss numbers for the bee industry last year: 42% loss. That 42% is not the
number of total losses. That’s the number of empty boxes. So, in reality,
every time you replace a queen, you’re replacing that beehive. So most
beekeepers are looking at 80% to 120% losses.”

- Dave Hackenberg, Owner, Hackenberg Apiaries, Lewisburg, PA

Apis Mellifera honey bee. Worker gathering pollen and nectar to take back to colony hives. Image © 2009 by Maciej Czyzewski. — *Apis Mellifera* honey bee. Worker gathering pollen and nectar to take back to colony hives. Image © 2009 by Maciej Czyzewski.

2009 photographic evidence of honey bee deaths in front of their hive at 7:30 AM after the bees drank clothianidin-contaminated dew water (nicotine-based pesticide). Source: Hedwig Riebe of the Deutscher Berufs und Erwerbs Imker Bund e. V. in 2009, German Beekeepers Association.

June 25, 2015 Lewisburg, Pennsylvania - On May 19, 2015, the White House issued a Presidential Memorandum called “National Strategy to Promote the Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators.” It was put together by an Obama-appointed Pollinator Health Task Force.

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