More honey bee colonies in Northern Ireland made it through winter

Fewer honey bee colonies were lost in Northern Ireland last winter than the winter before. The BBC reported on October 28, 2026, that the Agri-Food and Biosciences Institute's annual husbandry survey found about one colony in four gone in 2025-26, compared with a third in 2024-25.

More than 100 beekeepers answered, the most in five years. They started the winter of 2025-26 with 570 living colonies and lost 130 of them, which is 24 percent. That matches the loss rate in 2023-24 and is well below the 43 percent recorded in 2012-13. About half of this year's losses, 51 percent, were tied to problems with the queen. AFBI entomologist Joanna Kirbas said the 18-year survey is how the institute watches bee health, winter losses, and what keeps disease down.

A lower loss rate is not a full recovery. The BBC noted that bees still face pressure from weather, habitat, and farming, and that the 24 percent is close to the figure from two winters ago rather than a new low. The result is this survey of the hives those beekeepers reported.