Any kind of aggregated figures and statistics on colony numbers vs. effects of factors A, B, C have so much slop and variability in them that conclusions have to be equally sloppy. Colonies in an area, region, state can be missed so easily with so many new beekeepers, leading to undercounts. Was just remembering a few days ago statements from Mariano Higes that in Spain they have in a much smaller area the same number of estimated colonies than in the US. Subsidies from the EU apparently lead to a lot of units of questionable population and overcounts. And truly knowing what causative factors were in play when associated with decreases is even more difficult.
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