LISTEN: Beekeepers across the U.S. are struggling with severe losses after a combination of weather and parasites took their toll on hives during the winter. GPB's Chase McGee explains.

Honeybees on a pollen frame

Bees gather on a pollen frame at the University of Georgia's Bee Lab.

Credit: University of Georgia Bee Lab

Beekeepers across the U.S. are struggling with severe losses after a combination of weather and parasites took their toll on hives during the winter.

Normally, commercial beekeepers may lose 30% of their bees during winter hibernation.  

But this past year, some keepers lost as much as 60% of their bees.

Dr. Lewis Bartlett is an assistant professor of honeybee health at the University of Georgia. He said warmer winters mean there’s no break for bee larvae — baby bees — from the mites that latch onto them.

Bees on an apiary.

Credit: University of Georgia Bee Lab

"So as our winters have got warmer, we've seen more and more severe disease because there's no wintertime to interrupt that cycle," he says.

Warmer winters also confuse honeybees. They might wake up early from their hibernation, only to find there aren’t any flowers to pollinate to feed the hive.

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