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 samples from three locations, five had residues above the laboratory’s limit of quantification and three different analytes were quantified; one sample contained bifenthrin at a level the lab characterized as higher than the LD50. She also described mite monitoring results: five of 32 mite counts in 2023 exceeded the agency’s 3% threshold for heightened risk; in 2024 about 20% of sampled counts were above that threshold. "A lot of the colonies that we're sampling have high mite loads," Decker said.

Commercial and migratory beekeepers who addressed the committee emphasized management steps they use to cope with mite pressure and the economics of pollination services. Jackie Merriam, owner-operator of West Meadow Apiary, said her operation runs roughly 2,500 colonies and ships bees to Georgia and California for pollination work. Merriam described repeated winter feeding, in-hive feeders and "splits" (brood breaks) as core tactics. "Brood break is our number one, number one, attack against the Varroa mites," she said, explaining that splitting hives and timing treatments helps reduce mites when brood is limited.

Jeff (last name not specified), president of the Vermont Beekeepers Association and an apiary owner, praised state inspection work and noted progress on certain diseases: he said Vermont dropped to zero reported cases of American foulbrood in the past two years after agency outreach and inspections. Still, he and other beekeepers said climate variability, heavy rains in summer and consequent forage shortfalls contribute to starvation and weaker overwintering.

The agency said it used a California lab (QSI) in 2023 and has contracted with a USDA lab in Gastonia in 2024 for pesticide analyses; Decker said results from 2024 samples were pending at the USDA lab at the time of the hearing. The agency also is testing pollen for botanical origin to map what bees forage on and is using a Penn State landscape tool (Beescape) to evaluate land use and forage availability within bees' flight ranges.

Committee members asked how much pesticides—especially neonicotinoids—contribute to colony loss. Speakers agreed the science shows multiple interacting causes. "There are a lot of factors," Decker said. Fred Putnam Jr., a small commercial beekeeper and member of the Vermont Beekeepers Association, said research indicates pesticide exposure can produce sublethal effects that make colonies less able to withstand disease and other stresses.

The session included a practical exchange about registration, inspections and how migratory operations work; Decker said operators who move colonies out of state must notify the agency and provide inspection certificates. She estimated Vermont has roughly 18,000 colonies in about 1,100 registered apiaries, with a large number of backyard beekeepers (roughly 553 operations keeping fewer than 20 colonies) and about 20 larger commercial operations that manage the bulk of colonies in the state.

No formal committee action or vote was recorded during the presentation. Several members signaled interest in follow-up briefings on market and marketing challenges for honey producers and on ways to expand pollinator habitat near agricultural lands. Decker and the beekeepers recommended continued sampling, habitat creation (including highway and roadside plantings the agency is evaluating), and expanded beekeeper education and management support.

The committee said it would consider bringing the group back to discuss honey markets, commercialization and other policy options.

Ending: The testimony framed varroa mite control and improved forage as immediate priorities; the agency and beekeeping groups described complementary roles—agency sampling and regulation, and industry management and market work—in addressing colony losses.