Are Honeybees Dying Off? It Depends On Whom You Ask

Talk to a local beekeeper, and the potential consequences of the decline of the honeybee population are alarming, causing problems for pollination and sending ripple effects through the food supply chain and the entire ecosystem.

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Talk to a different beekeeper, and the deaths of honeybees may be overexaggerated, misleading the public about the supposed peril of billions of the hive-dwelling insects bred for crop pollination and honey production across the state and around the world.

For all the beekeepers can agree on — that bees themselves perform the daily tasks of keeping the hive running, from attending to the queen to building the comb and defending the nest — they differ on their methods to circumvent decline and protect the insects supporting the state’s biodiversity and agricultural industries.

People like Bethlehem’s Paul Snellen teach and embrace the rituals of conventional beekeeping, including hive treatment options that Snellen acknowledges can have some adverse effects. Others, like Rodale Institute’s Mike Schmaeling, prioritize a chemical-free method focusing on the resilience of bees and innovative breeding techniques.

But overall, as beekeepers work collectively to manage colony health, they’re still fighting an uphill battle.

Beekeepers in the United States lost an estimated 45.5% of their managed honeybee colonies last year, according to a survey conducted by the nonprofit Bee Informed Partnership. Pennsylvania’s beekeepers reported a 54% annual loss, and Snellen estimates Lehigh Valley losses at around 30%-40% or more.

The numbers prove beekeepers are encountering mass demise and must constantly work to restore honeybee numbers. They can only do so by honing in on the main causes of colony loss in their operations.