Dutch winter bee mortality rate above 20%, finds annual survey

Published 2024년 7월 10일

Tridge summary

In the winter of 2023-2024, the mortality rate of honeybee colonies in the Netherlands was 21.2%, with regional variations. The rate is lower than the previous year but still concerning. The survival rate among beekeepers improved slightly from the previous year, with nearly half reporting all hives survived. Factors contributing to winter mortality include queen death, reduced food supply, disease, viruses, and the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. The impact of the Asian hornet invasion on winter mortality is unknown but is expected to increase.

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Original content

In the winter of 2023–2024, 21.2% of the Dutch population of honeybee colonies died. While this mortality rate is lower than that of the previous winter, it still represents a worryingly high number of bee colonies that did not survive this winter period.The annual winter mortality rate is determined through a beekeeper survey conducted every year by researchers from Wageningen University & Research, in collaboration with de Nederlandse Bijenhoudersvereniging (NBV), Imkers Nederland (IN), the biodynamic beekeepers (BD-imkers) and professional beekeepers (BVNI), commissioned by the Ministry of LNV.This year, it is especially the south and north of the Netherlands that experienced relatively high winter mortality among honeybee colonies. Notably, in the previous year, the highest winter mortality was primarily observed in the east, center and western regions. However, such regional variations are common as good and bad years alternate in beekeeping practice.A total of 2,640 Dutch ...

Source: Phys