LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Commercial honey bee colonies could face extreme losses this year, according to Washington State University .

A Louisville beekeeping club said it isn’t as concerned for its bees.

The bees are busy buzzing at Bellarmine University.

“You see how gentle they are,” said Dr. Kate Bulinski, professor of geosciences in the Department of Environmental Sciences at Bellarmine University.

Puffs of smoke keep the honey bees calm.

“When the bees are communicating to each other, they use pheromones, and the smoke actually blocks their ability to smell each other’s pheromones. So, then they get kind of disoriented, and they want to go retreat back into the hive,” Bulinski said.

Students started the beekeeping club in 2022 with about five frames of bees.

“You let them just sta

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