Why are half of NJ's honeybees dying each year?

Nearly half the honeybees in New Jersey die off each year, significantly outpacing the national average and perplexing scientists, who worry the losses could impact the state's agricultural industry.

While bee populations have been in rapid decline throughout North America, losses in New Jersey surged ahead a few years ago and commercial as well as amateur beekeepers have been struggling with the losses. 

There could be many reasons for the deaths, but the consensus is that a parasite that is deadly to honeybees, the varroa destructor, has spread like wildfire throughout the state.

Such problems can spread easily in New Jersey, beekeepers say, because the state’s 20,000 colonies are relatively close together in the nation’s most densely populated state. State officials say backyard beekeepers need to take better care fighting the parasites.

More than 48 percent of the bees died in 2013 and more than 53 percent were lost in 2016. This year, 41 percent died, according to a recent national survey.

Nationwide, honeybee deaths average 33 percent a year.

“We don’t have all the answers as to why one state is significantly higher than others,” said Dennis vanEngelsdorp, survey director for the Bee Informed Partnership, a consortium of scientists and beekeepers. “It’s something that we have to look at much closer.” 

Continuing to lose 40 to 50 percent of bees would be a major hit to the state’s agricultural industry. The honeybee, New Jersey’s official state bug, is a $7 million industry and the bees help pollinate nearly $200 million worth of fruits and vegetables annually. Major crops in New Jersey, including cranberries, blueberries, apples and cucumbers, rely on honeybee pollination. 

“It’s something we have to be very vigilant about,” said Tim Schuler, the state beekeeper for the Department of Agriculture. “We’ve been trying to get the word out for years now.”

Nationally, honeybees began a sudden and rapid decline in the winters of 2006 and 2007, when beekeepers in 27 states and parts of Canada reported about five times the normal losses. The phenomenon was soon dubbed Colony Collapse Disorder.

The losses drew the concern of farmers and government officials because bees pollinate $15 billion worth of U.S. crops. Scientists suspected a parasite, an unknown virus, some kind of bacteria, pesticides, or a one-two combination of the top four, with one weakening the honeybee’s immune system and the second killing it. 

Scientists eventually zeroed in on the varroa mite. First detected in the U.S. around 1986, the pinhead-sized critter migrated to New Jersey in the early 1990s. The reddish-brown varroa enters beehives, attaches itself to bee larvae, and sucks blood from its victims. Mite-infested bees weaken and die prematurely. They are easily spread from colony to colony by drifting workers and drones.

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The 33 percent loss nationwide is actually a sliver of better news.  It is the second lowest rate in seven years of annual record keeping by Bee Informed. But it’s far from the 5 to 10 percent annual losses before varroa.

“It’s better but it doesn’t mean it’s good,” said vanEngelsdorp, who researches bee health at the University of Maryland. “We cannot sustain one out of three colonies dying.”

The numbers vary wildly by state and New Jersey fared better than its neighbors from spring 2016 to spring 2017. 

Delaware lost 74 percent of its bees, second only to Oklahoma, which lost 84 percent. Connecticut lost 62 percent, Pennsylvania lost 51 percent and New York lost 44 percent.  

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Since the outbreak, New Jersey’s annual loses have fluctuated with a low of 26 percent in 2011-2012 to a high of 54 percent last year. New Jersey had been below the national average until 2013 when it surged 10 above and has been there ever since. 

The majority of the state’s estimated 1,000 beekeepers are hobbyists, including more than 200 in Bergen and Passaic counties. And they’re not just located in towns with wide open spaces.

“You’ll find beekeepers in places like Clifton and East Rutherford, which are pretty well built out,” said Frank Mortimer, president of the Northeast New Jersey Beekeepers Association.

Backyard beekeepers tend to have higher rates of loss because they may not be as diligent as commercial beekeepers in keeping the mites at bay. 

That takes a lot of work. First beekeepers need to know if there is a mite infestation and how bad it is. To do this, a beekeeper needs to collect about 300 live bees, put them in a jar with rubbing alcohol, shake it for a few minutes to separate the dead mites from the now-dead bees. 

There are many treatments for mites. Schuler prefers a pesticide strip that has to be layered in a hive for at least a week. 

“I feel like I’ve been a parrot out there for the past eight or so years,” Schuler said. “To be a good beekeeper you have to be a good mite manager. There’s no way around it.” 

Mortimer’s backyard in Ridgewood has too much shade so he keeps his seven hives in Upper Saddle River and Ho-Ho-Kus. Despite treating his colonies for varroa, he has been losing about 40 percent of bees in recent years, mirroring the state average. 

"When you’re working with the bees, it’s meditative and relaxing," Mortimer said. "You have two to three thousand bees doing their business all around you. To hear the buzzing, to smell the honey, you become part of it. It’s so relaxing. And it's a reason why we have to do everything we can as beekeepers to save them." 

NJ annual bee loss

2010/11: 28.6 percent

2011/12: 25.5

2012/13: 39.9

2013/14: 39.7

2014/15: 48.2

2015/16: 53.6 

2016/2017: 41 percent

Source: Bee Informed Partnership