Emily
Editor, Senior Moderator
Local beekeeper suffers unusual loss of hives
May 11, 2023
By Sheila Harris
Beekeeper Kevin Young and his wife Bonita, of Exeter — marketers of K&B Honey — lost 85 percent of their beehives over the winter due to circumstances no one is able to explain, least of all Kevin Young, who has kept bees for over 20 years.
“Going into winter, I had 225 hives; each of those hives had about 50,000 bees in it,” Young said. “When I began opening the hives up in early April, I discovered that most of the bees were gone. All that was left was a handful of dead bees, with maybe one living bee.”
The odd thing, says Young, is that all of the combs were full of honey, which would not be the case if the bees had left because they were facing starvation, a common plight for some bees during winter months...
...
He wonders if the bees’ disappearance might be associated with the poultry- processing waste residuals being land-applied in the areas where his hives are located.
“With the permission of landowners, I put about 12 hives each on different properties within a five-mile radius of Exeter,” he said. “Each of those properties was in an area where poultry-processing residuals were being applied. I don’t know whether that has anything to do with the bees disappearing or not.”
Although Young says he just doesn’t know, he also says it’s the only change in the bees’ environment over the past year...
May 11, 2023
By Sheila Harris
Beekeeper Kevin Young and his wife Bonita, of Exeter — marketers of K&B Honey — lost 85 percent of their beehives over the winter due to circumstances no one is able to explain, least of all Kevin Young, who has kept bees for over 20 years.
“Going into winter, I had 225 hives; each of those hives had about 50,000 bees in it,” Young said. “When I began opening the hives up in early April, I discovered that most of the bees were gone. All that was left was a handful of dead bees, with maybe one living bee.”
The odd thing, says Young, is that all of the combs were full of honey, which would not be the case if the bees had left because they were facing starvation, a common plight for some bees during winter months...
...
He wonders if the bees’ disappearance might be associated with the poultry- processing waste residuals being land-applied in the areas where his hives are located.
“With the permission of landowners, I put about 12 hives each on different properties within a five-mile radius of Exeter,” he said. “Each of those properties was in an area where poultry-processing residuals were being applied. I don’t know whether that has anything to do with the bees disappearing or not.”
Although Young says he just doesn’t know, he also says it’s the only change in the bees’ environment over the past year...