WABASH COUNTY — Bee population loss is at an extreme level across the United States.
"Around 1.5, 1.4 million colonies have died," said Krispn Given from Purdue University. "That's half the population in the country."
Given is the senior apiculture specialist at Purdue. His research aims to help beekeepers and stop this recent loss of bees.
Bee loss is cyclical, but Given hasn't seen loss to this level before 2025.
"Since 2006, 2007, this is the worst we've seen it," Given explained. "Maybe it'll be worse."
The most recent losses started in July to August of 2024, and have continued into early 2025.
There are several factors that can kill colonies of bees: pesticides, loss of habitat, viruses, and mites.
The varroa mite, which originated in Asia, is the main reason numbers are dropping currently.
This mite, which is part of the arachnid family (like spiders), is a big problem for beekeepers across the United States.
The mites transmit viruses to bees — namely deformed wing virus (DWV).
Going along with the nationwide trend, Given says more than half the honeybees at Purdue's Bee Lab have died. When examining their hives, there was a stark difference between the dead hives and the surviving ones.
The surviving hives had eggs, honey, and full colonies. The dead hives were empty of all of these things.
The honeybees at Purdue are part of a breeding program. Given and his team have been able to create a strain of bees that is resistant to the varroa mite, called the Indiana Mite-Biters.
"This strain has demonstrated that it increases the colony's thriftiness and overall health of a colony," Given said proudly.
The research at Purdue University is used at countless apiaries, including Clover Blossom Honey in Wabash County, run by the Shenefield family.
"My grandpa started keeping bees way back in the 50s," said Derek Shenefield. "All we've ever done is keep bees."
The farm is the largest commercial bee operation in Indiana. They have around 3,000 hives.
Throughout his life, Shenefield has noticed a change in his bees.
"In my dad's younger years, and especially my grandpa's, you just got bees, and they made honey, and they lived," Shenefield recalled. "Nowadays, they don't live like that anymore."
Honey from their farm is sold all across the Midwest. With the current loss of bees, we could be in for a stickier situation with a loss of more than just honey.
"Honeybees are important," said Krispn Given. "They're the supreme pollinators of crops."
With current bee loss, Given expects there to be impacts to the availability and prices of citrus, melons, and pumpkins later this year.
"People assume that everything's going to get pollinated, just because it always does," Shenefield said. "But if those bees are not there to do it, you just simply won't have those products."
Colony loss for the Shenefield family causes economic loss, and a loss of time as they rebuild their colonies. This also takes an emotional toll.
"It's devastating when you lose your bees," Shenefield lamented. "I raise all the queens myself. Each individual hive, I kind of have an attachment to."
Beekeepers like the Shenefields are using the research from Purdue to stay optimistic about bee health.
"We just have to keep pushing through, and try to better our bees," Shenefield said.
