How to get started with beekeeping: Help save the bees

In our last article in the Honey Bee series, we look at the plight of the honey bee in the United States. The data is not good. In the 1940s, there were approximately 5 million hives, and according to the USDA National Agricultural Statistic Service (NASS), that number has dropped to 2.66 million today. There are many potential reasons for this decline, including fewer small farms, lower prices for honey, Colony Collapse Disorder, CCD, increased pest, and climate change. Some of these have also led to a 15-22 % loss of bee colonies each year.

The biggest culprit making the most news over the last few decades is CCD. Again no one reason could be blamed for CCD, but its impact was devastating. CCD has lessened the past few years, which might be good news, except we now lose approximately 30% of our bee colonies.

Pest, commercial farming, and climate change appear to be the likely cause of the worsening numbers. Varroa destructor mites have caused significant damage to bee colonies. This pest is compounded by sizeable commercial bee pollination companies that proliferate the almond growing industry. The bees are needed to pollinate large tracts of industrial agriculture, and this high concentration of bees allows for the quick spread of pests. As large numbers of bees are lost each year, existing colonies are split, and queens are mass-produced to develop new hives quickly.

I am not an expert in CCD or the cause of why so many honey bees hives are lost each year, but the stress of these large operations and their impact on smaller beehive operations does appear to be a contributing factor. As already stated, we are hovering around 2.5 million colonies in the United States.

This significant reduction in the past 80 years is troubling, but what might be more significant is the lack of production from each hive. In 2000 the average per hive honey production was 84lbs; this dropped to 59lbs by 2014. The amount changes each year as the graph shows, but the trend is unmistakable.

The trend of less honey per hive is starting to cause an increase in colonies, and per the graph below, an increase in honey prices starting an upward trajectory after the year 2000. The root cause of less honey per hive again is most likely a combination of the already mentioned issues.

The trend in backyard and barnyard beekeeping is positive in the recovery and hopefully of healthier bee populations. We need to ensure a diverse bee population and strong genetic pool, so one type of pest can not devastate our bees.

Thank you for coming along with me on this how to get started with beekeeping series! If you happened on this one and missed the first four articles here are the links to each of them:

Episode #44 of Wimmer’s Wilderness Podcast is dropping July 31st and covers all five of our Beekeeping Series. There is a quiz at the end of the podcast where you can win some sweet prizes. Help us spread the word by telling your friends, family, and heck even your frenemies that they can find us on iTunes, Spotify, Luminary, iHeart Radio, Stitcher, and Google Podcast, Tunein radio. To learn more, go to our website – wimmerswilderness.org.