Survey: Up To 36 Percent Of Commercially Managed Bee Hives Lost In One Year

San Francisco, CA (AHN) - Commercially managed bee hives across the U.S. decreased by 36 percent in the past 12 months, according to a survey by the Apiary Inspectors of America.

The higher rate of loss was attributed by Dennis vanEngelsdorp, president of AIA, to effect of new ailments on bees, pesticides and parasites.

It is the only second year that AIA had measured bee hive population. The group's survey last year showed a 32 percent decline.

To help the nation's bee industry, Pennsylvanian Agriculture Secretary Dennis Wolff said the state would allocate $20,4000 for research granted to the Pennsylvania State University which is seeking to discover the cause of Colony Collapse Disorder, which is the cause of 29 percent of bee deaths.