Thanks Juanse.


The press release didn't give the overall loss figures available in the body of the report: 11% for 2011-2012 and 32% for 2012-2013.  I should add that this survey did not ask for data for colonies of a certain size so there will be a proportion of nucs included in this total.  We are part way through a survey of members of the East of Scotland Beekeepers Association and so far our members' losses are significantly less than 32% when you include only colonies of normal wintering strength, 6 frames or more, but the percentage rises to close to that figure when you include overwintering nucs (which fared poorly last winter). 

It is worth reading the report to see why beekeepers think they lost colonies.  No mention of pesticides at all.  Most experienced beekeepers I know don't believe that they are a major factor - the more common reasons given are Varroa numbers too high, poor queen mating, weather-induced low vigour of colonies last autumn, starvation. 


Perhaps I should point out that the surveyed beekeepers were randomly selected from those who (voluntarily) register with the UK's BeeBase system.  It is possible that contains the more motivated and, on the whole, better beekeepers.  There are also figures being touted by the UK Bee Farmers Association.  I was told that the secretary claimed in Beekeepers Quarterly recently that in the UK half of colonies had been lost and of the remainder half would be unproductive in 2013.   More data may emerge from Dundee University/Scottish Beekeepers Association survey of hobby beekeepers which relies on data to be sent to project that has been overtly focused on pesticides as a cause of bee decline.  The loss rate in previous years has been rather high in that survey which may reflect the sampling used to gather the data.


In other words, all surveys have their own features and biases.  One thing is clear: 2011-2012 was a good winter for bees, but 2012-2013 was particularly bad.


best wishes

Gavin

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