Beekeepers in Ohio see major decline in hives

Beekeepers in Ohio see major decline in hives

Beekeepers in Ohio see major decline in hivesLocal beekeepers in Ohio are concerned because they’re seeing huge losses coming out of winter. Some report up to half or even 80% losses of their beehives.

What You Need To Know
Nick Szucs said he lost about 50% of his honeybees

While the reason is not yet known, the president of the Central Ohio Beekeepers Association says it can be because of mites or starvation

Rebuilding is the next step as 20 new queens are raised in Columbus, Ohio

Nick Szucs, owner of Bee Dad Honeybees in Columbus, Ohio, said he lost about half of his honeybees.

Szucs works as a nurse full time at a hospital, but his passion for beekeeping started during the pandemic.

“I love beekeeping and honeybees, it’s just such a cool way to connect with my dad and my grandfather who are both beekeepers,” Szucs said. “Usually I get 90% of our hives through winter. I’ve been growing every year since 2020. This is the first time that I had significant losses and 50% was losing a lot of our honeybees over this past winter.”

Szucs said there’s a lot that happens inside the hive. Most of the bees do their work inside and as the bees age, they eventually get to graduate to become a foraging and work outside.

But for most of their life, the bees spend it inside the hive. The oldest bees only get to live for about a week as a forager.

Yet the reason for the loss the beekeepers in Ohio are seeing isn’t yet known, according to Dr. Medard Lutmerding, president of the Central Ohio Beekeepers Association and vice president of Central Ohio Beekeepers Charitable Foundation.

The Central Ohio Beekeepers Association is a place where people can learn about beekeeping as they offer classes on the field.

“We watch your progression,” Lutmerding said. “We talk about what’s happening in the hive. It’s sort of hands-on training for our beekeepers.”

Lutmerding said winters can be tough, but it’s unusual to lose so many hives.

He said he also lost a few more than he normally does, but it’s uncertain whether it’s a statewide issue.

“They’re trying to figure out why that’s really a very high loss,” Lutmerding said. “There can be issues with mites or starvation that sometimes bees get into insecticides or poisons that people put out.”

Nick Szucs, owner of Bee Dad Honeybees shows where the queens are going to emerge from. (Spectrum News 1/Chrissa Loukas)

Tula Brown is one of Lutmerding’s youngest beekeepers.

Brown is 7-years-old and while she’s not yet old enough to take her own class, she joins her mothers.

She said in the beginning she was a little nervous, but then she overcame that fear.

“I got to hold one of the hives, one of the parts that move,” Brown said. “I’m really excited because maybe I’ll be able to get the honey all.”

Szucs said all these bees feel like they’re home when they’re at their hives and they’re just working going about their day.

Szucs said the pricing on pollination contracts are set in advance so consumers may not see higher prices this year but next year the cost may catch up.

But rebuilding is what’s next for Lutmerding, Szuczs and thousands of beekeepers in Ohio.

Some of the first queen bees are emerging from little cells where Szucs has built for them and each of them is going to become a queen in approximately 10 days. So far there are about 20 queens.

“We don’t have these all the time, but right now we’re raising queens with this colony here…and this is how we’re going to rebuild right here,” Szucs said. “But it’s going to take time, it’s going to be another building year for us, so that’s kind of the disappointing part, we don’t have as much honey, and we don’t have as many bees for sale because we lost so many hives.”

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