By Rebecca Hempleman, The Herald-Dispatch
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — West Virginia’s honeybees population decline is estimated at about 40% this year, according to the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.
A drought last year, bad weather and an invasive species called the Varroa mite all have led to a record high number of losses this year, according to Shanda King, an apiarist with the West Virginia Department of Agriculture.
According to King, honeybees require good weather to produce honey because they need to take what is called a “cleansing flight” in warm, sunny weather to expel waste from their system outside the colonies. If they can’t do this, then it will build up in their system and could lead to dysentery or a fungal disease called nosema, leading to colony losses.
