randy oliver 
From 1941-1950 average honey yield was 39 lbs/hive, compared to our recent
average of around 62 lbs.  This surprised me.

The above figures, coupled with the frequently-heard reports that there is
less bee forage these days, strongly suggest that bees were under strong
competition for resources back in the 1940s.  That suggests that due to the
high managed bee population, that other pollinators may have been affected
by competition from honey bees.

my comments..
The period also produced the phrases 'bee havers' and 'bee boys' which in some way or other was folks with money buying up bees to keep their sons from being shot at or killed. These folks (as reported to me long long ago) where well healed in money but with absolutely no experience in keeping bees and often times had little drive to get things done.

Gene in Central Texas...

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