My own losses were roughly 30% last year; but its due to varroa mites. Every beekeeper has to deal with it. I had just never heard of a queen bee die off
Something to keep in mind is that honeybees are a non-native species to the Americans. Agreed they are vital for pollination of many crops used, but as important (if not more so) are native bees i.e. bumbles. Everyone should buy houses for them for their own yards.
Personally, in my opinion one of the biggest culprits are manicured lawns. I seed clover in my yard as hit helps with nitrogen fixation and drought tolerance (not to mention my bees love it), but my wife doesn't like it and is concerened my kids will get stung with increased bee presence. Fair points.