Colony Collapse Disorder is destroying colonies

CCD is real, though you should take figures like “up to 90% losses” with a pinch of salt. Yes, some beekeepers have been hit that hard, others less so, and some not at all. So while it’s not false, the important bit is the “up to,” not the “90%.” The last figures I saw indicated that CCD claimed about 25% of hives across the US.

But the total number of colonies is not declining

When I said, “It’s as though CCD didn’t happen at all!” That was meant to underscore the good news in the number of producing honeybee colonies, not to literally say it didn’t happen. In fact, the very next sentence reads, “It did happen, of course, and may still be happening right now.” So CCD is happening and destroying hives, but the statistics on managed colonies are also good data. They come from the annual Honey Report published by the USDA, and you can follow the links to the 2006 and 2007 reports yourself.

Because beekeepers are making up their losses

So, how is it that CCD is destroying colonies, but there is no overall decline in the number of colonies for two years running? The answer is that beekeepers, who experience losses every year from disease, cold, and starvation, were able to rebuild their colonies. Seeing the industry hang in there like that gives me confidence that they will survive CCD.

Does that clear things up?

Erroll

I’m a bit fascinated with your statistics and ideas as they don’t match any of the testimony at the US Senate hearings. Testimony from every expert stated that CCD was seen in all native pollinators and that native pollinators were harder hit than honey bees because they didn’t have keepers. In fact, there is a new movement to try to keep the Mason Bee from extinction.

The statistics also don’t match my experience. Last year at this time of year, my bee supplier said that his customers were running 10% survival - that means that 90% of bees were dying. I also know the large bee havers here in Colorado were running about 40% survival last March. So I wonder where your statistics come from. It’s odd to me that there can be such disparity.

Bee Culture, the bee keeping magazine, also states that CCD is a real phenomena. They give CCD statistics every single month. It’s their opinion that I site in my post - that it’s more likely a mix of the meds and the diseases plus the pesticides. Further, the National honey board (which is run here in Colorado) speaks to the decline in bees particularly in places like the California almond fields. That’s not to mention the decline of bees in France, China, Australia, the entire UK, Canada and other countries of the world - not just the US.

Finally, if you’ve ever opened a CCD hive, you’d know that it was real. It’s like walking into your house - there’s hot cup of coffee on the table, a lit cigarette burning and no one home. Very twilight zone.

That’s a long winded way of saying, “What?”