Vermont beekeepers, agency outline mite threat, pesticide testing and habitat efforts

Brooke Decker, pollinator health specialist at the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, told the Senate Agriculture and Business Committee on Friday, March 28, that the agency enforces a required registration for all honeybee colonies and is running a multi-year study to test hive pollen for pesticide residues and to monitor varroa mite pressure.

The agency is sampling six enrolled apiaries monthly under state statute “30 36,” Decker said, gathering pollen for pesticide analysis and counting mites to track disease risk. "All colonies of honeybees are required to be registered," she said, adding that registrations—charged a $10 fee—help the agency with inspections, interstate movement certificates and emergency responses.

Why it matters: Varroa mites and associated viruses are repeatedly cited by beekeepers as the dominant health threat to managed colonies; pesticide exposure and forage availability are seen as additional, interacting stressors. Beekeepers told the committee that management practices, winter feeding and brood breaks are central to keeping mite levels down, while the agency is pursuing lab analyses and habitat work to reduce risk.

Decker said laboratory analysis of 2023 pollen samples detected pesticide residues in most samples: of eight…