Roughly half of commercial honeybee colonies have died annually over the past decade and researchers at Washington State University say it could be even worse this year. 

Entomologists at the university said in a release that early data suggests colony losses could reach 60% to 70% in 2025. 

“Losses have been increasing steadily,” said Priya Chakrabarti Basu, an assistant professor of pollinator health and apiculture. “Pollination demands haven’t gone down, so beekeepers face tremendous pressure to keep the same number of colonies to meet those needs.” 

A variety of factors could be causing or combining to kill off honeybees at a faster pace this year. Known stressors include nutrition deficiencies, mite infestations, viral diseases and possible pesticide exposure during the previous pollinating season. 

The loss of colonies would not only hurt beekeepers who sell honey from their hives. More than a third of the world’s food depends on pollinators, including Mid-Columbia fruit growers.