The Vermont Beekeepers Association (VBA) is calling statewide attention to a new report released by the University of Vermont Bee Lab documenting unprecedented honey bee colony losses in Vermont during the 2024–2025 season.
The UVM survey captured data from 12 commercial and sideline beekeeping operations representing 6,434 colonies — over one-third of all colonies registered in Vermont in 2024.
The findings: Vermont beekeepers lost 56.08% of colonies across the 2024–2025 beekeeping year.
“This is not a normal loss year — this is an emergency signal,” said Andrew Munkres, Past President of the Vermont Beekeepers Association and co-author of the study. “These losses affect not just bees but Vermont farms, food systems, and rural livelihoods.”
Respondents identified pesticide exposure and Varroa mites as the top two drivers of losses, followed by nutrition and disease.
Vermont is not an outlier — this is nationwide
National data released this summer by Auburn University and the Apiary Inspectors of America showed the highest annual U.S. colony loss ever recorded, at 55.6%. Vermont mirrors this extreme trend.
What VBA is asking for
VBA is urging Vermont decision-makers and partners in agriculture to act immediately to:
● Reduce pesticide exposure risk
● Invest in bee forage and nutrition statewide
● Coordinate pollinator-safe IPM planning between growers and
beekeepers
“Beekeepers are doing everything they can, but we cannot solve this alone,”Munkres said. “These numbers prove that bee health is now a food system issue. Vermont needs to respond at a food system scale.”
The full article can be found here: Vermont colony loss report 2024/25