Hello All,

I’m gathering information about severe bee colony OR honey crop losses the 
beekeeping industry has encountered in the past, either by weather, 
disease or other undetermined cause.  I am focusing search efforts ‘not 
only at numbers‘, but  what beekeepers were ‘saying about the conditions’, 
news press articles, magazines and agriculture reports published at the 
time of the events.

E.F. Phillips, In BEEKEEPING (1915) makes mention of 1884-85, 1903-04, 
1909-10, 1911-12  as years of devastating losses to the bee industry.  I 
obviously need to include 1995-96 and 2006-07, and have gathered some 
historical accounts from these years.  But are there any more years of bee 
losses between the years 1912 and 2007 that I should look into? 

I’m looking at 1917-1918  as a potential candidate due to volcanic events 
affecting weather occurring around that time and some reports of bee 
losses. On  November 07, 1918 Richwood, Ohio the local news paper 
writes,,  “…The death rate of colonies last winter was so high that even a 
loss of 10 per cent which is the normal winter loss will seriously injure 
the honey industry.” 

Also very interested in historical bee loss events occurring in Europe; 
e.g. the foulbrood epidemic and especially weather related losses.

Please send information related to historical bee or honey crop losses to
[log in to unmask]

Thanks!

Joe Waggle ~ Derry, PA   
‘Bees Gone Wild Apiaries' 
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/HistoricalHoneybeeArticles

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