Last winter was a tough period for the bees in the Netherlands. Recent research from the Bee Foundation shows that 37% of honey bees did not survive the winter months this year. Last year it was still 18.4%. The cause of the high bee mortality is not yet clear. There are suspicions that the varroa mite played an important role. This is a parasite that feeds on the juices of larvae and adult bees, which weakens bee colonies.