科学 · 蜜蜂健康
130个蜂群损失:北爱尔兰冬季情况虽有好转,损失仍然惨重
参与调查的养蜂人在2025/26年冬季损失了570个蜜蜂蜂群中的130个。损失有所下降,但公布的百分比互相矛盾,长期趋势也不确定,因此这项改善仍需谨慎看待。
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在参与北爱尔兰农业、食品与生物科学研究所(AFBI)最新养蜂调查的养蜂人中,有130个蜜蜂蜂群在一个冬季内损失。他们在2025/26年冬季开始时共有570个存活蜂群:大约每四个蜂群中就有一个没能熬过冬天。这比前一个冬季有所改善,但损失仍然相当严重,单凭这一点还不能证明蜂群正在恢复。1
农业、食品与生物科学研究所的年度调查收到100多名养蜂人的答复,是五年来参与人数最多的一次。这些答复展现的是受访者的蜂群和养蜂做法,并非对北爱尔兰所有蜂箱的普查。这个区别很重要:130是参与者报告的损失数,并非整个地区的总数。1
公布的损失比例还存在一个尚未解决的问题。AFBI于2026年10月27日发布的公告给出的损失率为23%。BBC北爱尔兰于10月28日的报道给出的比例则为24%,并列出了损失130个蜂群、原有570个蜂群的数字。用这两个数字相除,结果约为22.8%,四舍五入后是23%。2 1
这项计算既不能说明调查如何计算损失率,也无法解释BBC公布的数字。方法上的说明或更正或许能解决差异,但现有证据并未提供其中任何一种。可以得出的可靠结论范围较窄,但很明确:无论采用公布的哪一个比例,都低于2024/25年冬季报告的33%平均损失率。1 2
冬季情况好转,但尚未恢复
近期的历史数据表明,单个年份的改善并不像乍看之下那样令人放心。报告的损失率在2021/22年为11%,2022/23年约为14%,随后在2023/24年升至24%,2024/25年升至33%。最新结果无论按23%还是24%计算,都接近两个冬季前的水平,并未恢复到此前较低的损失率。BBC报道提及的历史最高数字是43%,出现在2012/13年冬季。1
这项调查已经连续开展18年,但长期进行的调查并不会自动得出可靠的长期趋势。现有证据无法确定近几个冬季是否由同一批养蜂人参与、招募方式发生了怎样的变化,或调查对该地区蜂群的覆盖是否始终一致。更多答复能增加信息,但其本身并不能证明样本代表了所有养蜂人。1
AFBI昆虫学家乔安娜·柯巴斯称,这项调查的目的是监测蜜蜂健康状况、追踪冬季损失并考察疾病预防。它的价值在于持续记录并改善证据,而不是让每一次波动都变成对未来的定论。1
AFBI植物健康与综合害虫管理部门负责人阿奇·默奇表示,天气会影响蜜蜂、蜜源以及它们对感染的易感性。但他的评估也有一项重要限制。1
虽然目前我们还没有足够的数据来分析长期趋势,但天气模式的变化可能是蜂群损失的影响因素之一。
这是一种可能的影响因素,并非对这个冬季情况经过测量确认的解释。这里公布的调查结果并未量化某场具名风暴、某种气温模式或其他特定天气状况对2025/26年蜂群损失的影响。
报告的损失以蜂王问题为主
有明确分类的损失中,最大一类与蜂王有关。约51%的损失与蜂王问题有关——这是指损失蜂群的大约一半,并非进入冬季时570个蜂群中的一半。其他报告的情况包括蜜蜂死亡或蜂箱空置。这些结果描述的是报告的问题和情况,不应被当作对每个损失原因的完整、独立核实解释。1
蜂群损失并不一定意味着蜂箱里满是死蜂。英国广播公司(BBC)的报道解释说,蜜蜂可能已经死亡或离开,有时只留下蜂王和一些哺育蜂。统计单位是蜂群,而非单只蜜蜂或实体蜂箱。1
另有10%的损失被归入风暴、洪水和盗窃。虽然报道将这些称为“自然灾害”,但盗窃并非自然灾害,因此不能如实地把这项合计数字称为天气造成的损失比例。由于没有细分数据,我们无法知道有多少损失归因于风暴,又有多少归因于洪水或盗窃。1
对于正为下一个冬季做准备的养蜂人来说,调查中较低的损失比例,不能替代一个运作正常、且有蜜蜂能够取食的食物储备的蜂群。国家养蜂部门(National Bee Unit)于2026年9月发布的指导建议从夏末开始准备,目标是确保蜂群有正常工作的蜂王、健康的蜜蜂、充足的食物储备和防风雨的蜂箱。13
食物不仅要有,还必须方便蜜蜂取食。该部门关于饥饿的指导要求监测储备食物的数量和可获取性;其冬季指导建议整个冬天定期检查,尤其是在早春,因为那时饥饿风险较高。这些是为即将到来的冬季提供的一般养蜂管理措施,并不能证明刚刚报告的损失是由喂食不足或某项特定管理决定造成的。12 13
这项调查之外的另一项威胁
必须将这种已知有害生物与小蜂螨区分开来。小蜂螨是一种源自亚洲、会侵袭发育中蜜蜂的寄生虫。国家养蜂部门的官方指导将小蜂螨视为外来、须报告的有害生物,并指出它意外传入英国会构成严重风险。调查报道中的任何内容都不能证明小蜂螨是北爱尔兰2025/26年冬季蜂群损失的原因。27 1
警告背后有一项具体进展。国家养蜂部门称,土耳其当局确认于2026年8月31日在与格鲁吉亚接壤的博尔奇卡发现了这种有害生物,而此前已有报告称其出现在当地。这是确认日期,不一定是螨虫抵达的日期。默奇称格鲁吉亚于2024年发现了这种螨虫;官方通告确认此前已有格鲁吉亚相关报告,但并未独立证实这一年份。26 1
默奇警告说,这种螨虫繁殖迅速,可能很快就会压垮蜂群。但现有材料没有提供其在欧洲进一步扩散的数值概率或时间表,也未明确这种有害生物目前在北爱尔兰是否存在。不能把一种潜在威胁误当成对已经统计出的损失的解释。1 27
眼下的发现仍然足够引人关注:尽管这个冬季情况有所好转,参与调查的养蜂人仍损失了130个蜂群。接下来的重点是核实公布的比例与报告的数量是否一致,并确认这种改善能否持续。在此之前,这只是经历了更糟糕的一年之后有所缓解,还不能说已经证实恢复。
播出原貌 17 行
- Beekeepers lost 130 honey bee colonies in a single winter.
- Losses fell from the previous winter, but roughly one colony in four still disappeared among Northern Ireland's survey participants. The question is whether that improvement points to healthier colonies over time.
- The participating beekeepers started winter 2025/26 with 570 living colonies and lost 130. Dividing those losses by the starting total gives 22.8 percent. Those counts anchor the findings, but they also expose a discrepancy in the published percentage.
- More than 100 beekeepers answered the survey, the highest response count in five years. The Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute, or AFBI, has run the annual exercise for 18 years. It follows beekeeping practices and challenges. These figures describe the people who answered, rather than every colony across Northern Ireland.
- The winter loss rate appears as both 23 percent and 24 percent. The lower figure matches the rounded calculation from 130 divided by 570. Nobody has explained whether the difference comes from the survey calculation or needs a correction.
- Either percentage puts losses below the previous winter's 33 percent. But the earlier figures show how much losses can move between winters. The latest result sits close to the level two winters earlier, while losses in the two winters before that were considerably lower.
- Losses were 11 percent in 2021/22, then around 14 percent the following winter. They climbed to 24 percent in 2023/24 and 33 percent in 2024/25, before falling to the latest conflicting figures of 23 percent and 24 percent.
- The highest historical figure identified was 43 percent in winter 2012/13. These annual percentages give researchers a useful history, but they can't be turned into a regional total of lost colonies. A larger response also doesn't automatically mean the survey represents every beekeeper.
- AFBI entomologist Joanna Kirbas says the survey helps monitor bee health, track winter losses and examine disease prevention. Archie Murchie, who heads its plant health and integrated pest management branch, says weather affects bees, their food sources and their susceptibility to infections.
- Murchie says changing weather patterns could contribute to colony losses. How much particular conditions contributed to this winter's losses hasn't been measured. The largest specified category in the findings concerned problems with the queen bee.
- Queen problems were linked to about 51 percent of losses, roughly half the colonies lost. Storms, flooding and theft together accounted for 10 percent. Because that total includes theft, it can't tell us the share lost to weather alone.
- Other outcomes included dead bees or an empty hive. A lost colony can mean the bees died or left, sometimes leaving a queen and some nurse bees behind. For beekeepers preparing for winter, the practical task is keeping a functioning colony alive, with food it can reach.
- The National Bee Unit's September 2026 guidance recommends starting preparations in late summer. Colonies should have a functioning queen, healthy bees, adequate food and weatherproof hives. Food also needs to be accessible. Bees can starve even when they have stores they can't reach.
- The guidance calls for regular winter checks, especially in early spring when starvation risk is high. The survey also examines management of Varroa, a mite that feeds on honey bees and can contribute to colony collapse. First detected in the UK in 1992 and Northern Ireland in 2002, it's no longer a statutory pest.
- Turkish authorities confirmed detection of a different mite, Tropilaelaps, on 31 August 2026 in Borçka, bordering Georgia. Murchie places its Georgian detection in 2024. Tropilaelaps attacks developing bees, and he warns it breeds rapidly and can quickly overwhelm a hive.
- Official guidance treats this Asian-origin parasite as an exotic pest that must be reported. Accidental introduction into the UK is a serious risk. Murchie warns it could spread further into Europe, but there's no timetable for that spread.
- One better winter gives participating beekeepers some relief after heavier losses. Establishing whether that improvement lasts takes more than a single year's decline. AFBI's researchers say they still don't have enough data to analyse long-term trends.
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