We all forget just how fast bee colonies can be grown out and split. Thus while we have shocking losses and ongoing serious issues with insecticides, it is still a problem that can be managed.
All beekeepers are now aware of the source of risk and can easily isolate problem areas and move elsewhere while complaining loudly
Thus this potential disaster aroused the beekeepers to really pay more attention and we now have a far more vibrant indurstry including back yard hives..
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The Myth of the Bee-pocalypse
https://fee.org/articles/the-myth-of-the-bee-pocalypse/?
You’ve probably heard by now that bees are mysteriously dying. In
2006, commercial beekeepers began to witness unusually high rates of
honeybee die-offs over the winter — increasing from an average of 15
percent to more than 30 percent. Everything from genetically modified
crops to pesticides (even cell phones) has been blamed. The phenomenon was soon given a name: colony collapse disorder.
Since colony collapse disorder began in
2006, there has been virtually no detectable effect on the total number
of honeybee colonies in the United States. Ever since,
the media has warned us of a “beemaggedon” or “beepocalypse” posing a
“threat to our food supply.” By 2013, NPR declared that bee declines may
cause “a crisis point for crops,” and the cover of Time magazine
foretold of a “world without bees.” This spring, there was more bad
news. Beekeepers reported losing 42.1 percent of their colonies over the last year, prompting more worrisome headlines.
Based on such reports, you might believe that honeybees are
nearly gone by now. And because honeybees are such an important
pollinator — they reportedly add $15 billion in value to crops and are
responsible for pollinating a third of what we eat — the economic
consequences must be significant.
Riding the buzz over dying bees, the Obama administration announced
the creation of a pollinator-health task force to develop a “federal
strategy” to promote honeybees and other pollinators. The task force
unveiled its long-awaited plan, the National Strategy to Promote the
Health of Honey Bees and Other Pollinators. The plan aims to reduce
honeybee-colony losses to “sustainable” levels and create 7 million
acres of pollinator-friendly habitat. It also calls for more than $82
million in federal funding to address pollinator health.
But here’s something you probably haven’t heard: there are more
honeybee colonies in the United States today than there were when colony
collapse disorder began in 2006. In fact, according to data released
in March by the Department of Agriculture, U.S. honeybee-colony numbers
are now at a 20-year high. And those colonies are producing plenty of
honey: U.S. honey production is also at a 10-year high.
Almost no one has reported this, but it’s true. You can browse the USDA reports yourself. Since colony collapse disorder began in 2006, there has been virtually no detectable effect
on the total number of honeybee colonies in the United States. Nor has
there been any significant impact on food prices or production.
How can this be? In short, commercial beekeepers have adapted to higher winter honeybee losses by actively rebuilding their colonies.
This is often done by splitting healthy colonies into multiple hives
and purchasing new queen bees to rebuild the lost hives. Beekeepers
purchase queen bees through the mail from commercial breeders for as
little as $15 to $25 and can produce new broods rather quickly. Other
approaches include buying packaged bees (about $55 for 12,000 worker
bees and a fertilized queen) or replacing the queen to improve the
health of the hive. By doing so, beekeepers are maintaining healthy and
productive colonies — all part of a robust and extensive market for pollination services.
The national pollination strategy is a solution in search of a crisis.Economists Randal Rucker and Walter Thurman have carefully documented
how these pollination markets work and how they respond to problems
like bee disease. As it turns out, they work pretty well. A 2012 analysis
by Rucker and Thurman found almost no economic impact from colony
collapse disorder. (If anything, you might be paying 2.8 cents more for a
can of Smokehouse Almonds.) They conclude that beekeepers are “savvy
entrepreneurs” who have proven able to “adapt quickly to changing market
conditions” with almost no impact on consumers.
What about beekeepers themselves? Rebuilding lost colonies
takes extra work, but so far most beekeepers seem adept at doing so.
Rucker and Thurman find that the prices for new queen bees have remained
stable, even with increased demand due to higher winter losses.
Pollination fees, the fees beekeepers charge farmers to provide
pollination services, have increased for some crops such as almonds. But
these higher pollination fees have helped beekeepers offset the
additional costs of rebuilding their hives.
The White House downplays these extensive markets for
pollination services. The task force makes no mention of the remarkable
resilience of beekeepers. Instead, we’re told the government will
address the crisis with an “all hands on deck” approach, by planting
pollinator-friendly landscaping, expanding public education and
outreach, and supporting more research on bee disease and potential
environmental stressors. (To the disappointment of many environmental
groups, the plan stops short of banning neonicotinoids, a type of
pesticide some believe are contributing to bee deaths.)
This is not to deny that beekeeping faces challenges. Today, most experts believe there is no one single culprit
for honeybee losses, but rather a multitude of factors. Modern
agricultural practices can create stress for honeybees. Commercial
beekeepers transport their colonies across the country each year to
pollinate a variety of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. This can weaken
honeybees and increase their susceptibility to diseases and parasites.
But this is not the first time beekeepers have dealt with bee
disease, and they do not stand idly by in the face of such challenges.
The Varroa mite, a blood-sucking bee parasite introduced in 1987, has
been especially troublesome. Yet beekeepers have proven resilient.
Somehow, without a national strategy to help them, beekeepers
have maintained their colonies and continued to provide the pollination
services our modern agricultural system demands.
“What are we doing on bees?” the president reportedly asked his advisers
in 2013. “Are we doing enough?” With U.S. honeybee colonies now at a
20-year high, you have to wonder: is our national pollination strategy a
solution in search of a crisis?
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