Review of Bee Health

JACKSON – While recent media reports have condemned a commonly used agricultural pesticide as detrimental to honeybee health, scientists with the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture have found that the overall health of honeybee hives actually improves in the presence of agricultural production.

The study, Agricultural Landscape and Pesticide Effects on Honey Bee Biological Traits, A which was published in a recent issue of the Journal of Economic Entomology, evaluated the impacts of row-crop agriculture, including the traditional use of pesticides, on honeybee health. Results indicated that hive health was positively correlated to the presence of agriculture. According to the study, colonies in a non-agricultural area struggled to find adequate food resources and produced fewer offspring.