Bee Colony Collapse Threatens U.S. Food Supply

New findings from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) show that 1.7 million bee colonies died between the summer of 2024 and the spring of 2025—a loss of more than 60 percent of U.S. commercial beekeeping colonies. Researchers and industry experts say it is one of the most severe pollinator die-offs in recent history.

Beekeepers in the United States first noticed unusually high numbers of dead and dying honey bee colonies as they prepared their hives for transportation to pollinate California’s almond crops in January 2025. A national survey conducted by bee research nonprofit Project Apis M. reveals that commercial beekeepers lost an average of 62 percent of their colonies between June 2024 and March 2025. The USDA estimates that this decline represents US$600 million in lost revenue. This includes lost pollination income, reduced honey production, and the cost of replacing dead colonies. 

Before the rise of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in 2006—a phenomenon where worker bees disappear suddenly from a managed bee colony—a beekeeper could expect to lose around 10 to 15 percent of their bees each winter, says Steven Coy, Founder of Coy Bee Company and President of the American Honey Producers Association. Temperature drops, lack of available food, and damage from parasites all contribute to winter bee die-off rates, according to research published in Ecological Indicators. 

“In the last 12 to 15 years, it’s been 40 percent and creeping up every year,” Coy tells Food Tank. “But those losses are occurring throughout the year,” with some beekeepers even losing more in the summer months. 

Project Apis M. reports that bee losses have spiked to 70 to 100 percent in the past year—a decline that, in many cases, may be irrecoverable. “If we have another big loss…in the near future, I don’t know that the industry can survive,” says Coy.

Researchers at USDA identified one potential culprit of the 2025 colony collapse: Varroa destructor mites resistant to amitraz, a pesticide widely used by beekeepers to control mites and ticks. These parasitic mites weaken bees by feeding on their organs and transmit a range of harmful viruses, such as Deformed Wing Virus (DWV) and Acute Bee Paralysis Virus (ABPV), according to the USDA. 

In their new paper, currently under peer review, USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists report high levels of bee viruses in hives that suffered severe collapse. Testing revealed that all Varroa mites collected from these dead colonies were resistant to miticides. The authors state the “urgent need for new control strategies for this parasite,” noting that amitraz is “suspected of losing efficacy after decades of heavy use.” The researchers also say they “cannot rule out” additional causes that contributed to the collapse. 

“ARS will continue to use scientific research and innovation to determine effective treatment strategies and solutions for other challenges that affect and cripple the nation’s honey bee population and colonies,” an ARS spokesperson tells Food Tank. 

Coy also believes that amitraz-resistant Varroa mites are “just a part of the reason why these bees died,” he tells Food Tank. “A colony is a superorganism; it’s a group of individuals working for the collective good. If one thing—like mite pressure—gets too far out of balance, it stresses the immune system. Then something else—like poor nutrition—can be the tipping point for colony death.”

M. Marta Guarna, Research Program Director for Project Apis M., notes the importance of advancing research to better evaluate and address threats to bees. “Evidence on the sublethal effects of exposing bees to agrochemical pesticides continues to highlight the need for increased dialogue with growers, producers of these compounds, and regulators in order to reduce exposure,” she tells Food Tank.

Honey bees pollinate an estimated US$30 billion worth of U.S. crops annually, according to research published in Environmental Science & Technology. Terry Ryan Kane, a bee veterinarian and Officer of the Honey Bee Veterinary Consortium, emphasizes the importance of healthful pollinator management to global food systems.

“There are over 20,000 species of animal pollinators responsible for 75 percent of the crops or plants eaten by people and animals and we are killing them,” Kane tells Food Tank. “We still need more veterinarians trained in bee medicine, overall pollinator health and ecosystem health. Insect populations are in global decline from climate change, pesticides, and habitat loss.” 

Key stakeholders, including Project Apis M., the American Beekeeping Federation, the American Honey Producers Association, and the Honey Bee Health Coalition, are collaborating to address the significant colony losses reported by beekeepers. The organizations are working to ensure that all available information about the 2025 collapse is easily accessible to stakeholders. They are also seeking adequate funding to investigate its causes and identify solutions to ongoing bee mortality.

The Honey Bee Health Coalition released an open letter to the USDA, urging the agency to “maintain the funding and operational capacity of the USDA Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) honey bee research units nationally.” 

The letter also asks that USDA bee researchers be authorized to share their analysis of emerging findings related to the 2025 colony collapse. They write, “Our beekeepers, farmers, and communities depend on it.”

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Photo courtesy of Kateryna Hliznitsova, Unsplash.