U.S. Honey Bee Losses

> The total number of managed honey bee colonies has decreased from 5 million in the 1940s to only 2.5 million today. At the same time, the call for hives to provide pollination services has continued to increase. 

> Annual losses from the winter of 2006-2011 averaged about 33 percent each year, with a third of these losses attributed to CCD by beekeepers. The winter of 2011-2012 was an exception, when total losses dropped to 22 percent.

Comment: as Bob Harrison and others have pointed out, without the high prices for almond pollination, hive numbers would probably have continued to decline. Now honey prices are good and this is a big incentive to keeping bees. 

If China goes into almonds in a big way and straightens out their problems with contaminated honey, they could have a huge impact on US beekeeping again, like they did in the 1980s (I sold out my 500 hive operation in 1990. I was never into pollination, BTW)

PLB

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