More Honey Bees Dying, Even as Antibiotic Use Halves

Despite tighter restrictions on antibiotics used in Canadian beekeeping, honey bee death rates are still rising. 

A new study led by University of Guelph researchers, published in Nature Sustainability, is the first large-scale project to assess antibiotic usage trends and their impact on honey bee health in Canada. 

The withdrawal of antibiotics, following recent regulation changes, was one of the top predictors of honey bee overwintering mortality — a result that surprised lead author Dr. Brendan Daisley.

“You’d assume the lessening of antibiotics might be associated with improved health outcomes, especially since antibiotics are so overused,” says Daisley, a postdoctoral researcher in the College of Biological Science. “But without effective alternatives, it seems the bees have developed a dependency on them.”      

Using national survey data, researchers investigated more than 700,000 honey bee colonies per year between 2015 and 2023. Colony losses varied by province, but overwintering mortality rose from an average of less than 20 to over 40%, even as antibiotic usage halved, decreasing from approximately 50 to 25% nationally.  

During the period studied, a new framework in 2018 put forth by the World Health Organization (WHO) and adopted by U.S. and Canadian agencies decreased over-the-counter access for certain beekeeping antibiotics.

This was done to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR) — the rising resistance to antibiotics that makes infectious diseases more difficult to treat. AMR is one of top 10 public threats facing humanity, according to WHO.