More honeybees are making it through the winter.
A Purdue University investigation found that about 29 percent of Indiana's honeybees died off this past winter. That's down from nearly 65 percent in 2013 — one of the largest bee die-offs on record.
Purdue University entomologist Greg Hunt conducted the investigation and says this year's die-off is more in line with long-term trends. Close to 5 million colonies existed in the 1940s compared to 2.5 million colonies today.
"I think it's business as usual," Hunt says. "We're seeing 30 percent loss. It goes up and down as the levels of mites go up and down, and there's a lot of stressors on our honeybees."
And those multiple stressors, including insecticides and parasites such as the Varroa mite, are contributing to honeybees' decline, but Hunt says it's difficult to measure just how much these factors are affecting the bees.
Since bees pollinate plants that produce a variety of fruits, vegetables and nuts, they play a pivotal role in agriculture. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has calculated that role is worth about $15 billion in yearly crop production.