From a recent report: 

The most important drivers of a long-term decline in colony numbers appear to be socioeconomic and political
pressure on honey production. In contrast, annual colony losses seem to be driven mainly by the spread of
introduced pathogens and pests, and management problems due to a long-term intensification of production
and the transition from large numbers of small apiaries to fewer, larger operations. We conclude that, while
other causal hypotheses have received substantial interest, the role of pests, pathogens, and management issues
requires increased attention. --- Pathogens, Pests, and Economics: Drivers of Honey Bee Colony Declines and Losses. Kristine M. Smith, et al.

* What management issues are they referring to? They state:

Large-scale shifts in management practices may be significant, 
under-researched drivers of colony losses in Europe and North America. 

In many ways, the state of research on
honey bee losses mirrors the situation of livestock production
in the early twentieth century, with poor coordination
of best management practices (including lack of
adequate knowledge of health threats and treatments) and a
low appreciation of the impact of rapid demographic
change on a managed population.

* My first impression upon reading the work was that here was another group trying to point out the weaknesses in the current system of beekeeping, attributing a large share of the blame to the beekeeper. Upon further reflection, they do have some valid points but their conclusions appear to be way off the mark. 

* Large scale beekeeping is not new, so it cannot be the most significant factor. Lack of dissemination of information is not new, either, as beekeepers are notorious for being unwilling to share key pieces of knowledge. However, as evidenced by this discussion group, there is also a strong effort to root out key problems and share solutions.

* I think it's especially incorrect to point to management as being under-researched. The problem may be unwillingness of key players to share information, however. For example, Bee Informed Partnership is trying to gather and collate the management practices and their effects. 

* However, little is known publicly about the management practices of large scale producers of bees for sale. These operations have a profound effect on the health of the bees of the entire nation, and we have almost no idea what they are doing with their bees on a day to day basis. There is no oversight, no information sharing whatsoever that I am aware of. 

Peter Loring Borst
Ithaca NY  USA

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