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Author Topic: American Bee losses  (Read 2098 times)

Offline NigelP

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American Bee losses
« on: February 27, 2025, 05:05:02 pm »
Reading about tremendous colony losses being reported in USA.
https://americanagnetwork.com/2025/02/survey-reveals-significant-loss-in-bee-colony-populations/
Any comments?
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Online Ben Framed

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Re: American Bee losses
« Reply #1 on: February 27, 2025, 05:07:56 pm »
So far I've lost none Nigel.
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Online Terri Yaki

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Re: American Bee losses
« Reply #2 on: February 27, 2025, 05:17:44 pm »
Nobody that I know but I am reading reports of large losses. I'm still a rookie though so I don't know what's normal.
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Offline The15thMember

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Re: American Bee losses
« Reply #3 on: February 27, 2025, 05:44:49 pm »
I've heard about commercial beekeepers having bad losses, but I haven't really heard similar reports from hobbyists.  I am having a better than average winter so far.  Knock on wood, I may have 100% survival this winter.  That was partially due to taking my losses in the fall, but still. 
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Online Kathyp

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Re: American Bee losses
« Reply #4 on: February 27, 2025, 06:03:37 pm »
There are a lot of questionable components that go into the loss claimed. Among them, insurance. I don't doubt that there are losses. There always are, and if you combine that with some whacky La Nina weather this year, maybe more than an average year.

A few years ago CA was in the midst of a pretty severe drought. Orchard owners did lose trees, and young trees were stunted. Many of the orchard owners plowed under entire orchards and took the write-off and insurance payments. I get why they did it, and I get that they might not have saved more than 1/2 their trees, but the reports only took into account the entire orchard numbers.

There's always numbers under the numbers.
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Online cao

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Re: American Bee losses
« Reply #5 on: February 27, 2025, 11:50:08 pm »
62% loss between June and February.  That in itself is a little misleading imo. June would be near the time of maximum number of hives after making splits.  And February would be the lowest point after winter and before they build up.  How many of the new splits don't make it for whatever reason or get combined before winter because they aren't big enough.   

I went into winter with about 70 hives and now are at 60+/-.  That's less than 20% loss.  If you count all the splits that I made last spring/summer that didn't make it, then you would add about another 20-30 to that.  It sounds a whole lot worse then.  It would be around 40% loss or maybe a little more.

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