Everything you should know about colony collapse disorder and ‘disappearing’ bee populations

During the winter of 2006-2007, beekeepers around the country began reporting unusually high losses of their hives. Between 30 percent and 90 percent of honeybee hives disappeared virtually overnight.

As the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reported, a majority of worker bees in a colony would suddenly “disappear leaving behind a queen, plenty of food and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees and the queen.”

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Like much media reporting today, the truth about CCD is quite different than the Doomsday scenarios….

Bees Are Not Going Extinct and Crops Are Not in Trouble

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Last year, Jon Entine, founder and executive director of the Genetic Literacy Project, argued that the apocalyptic warnings were premature. “Honeybee populations haven’t ‘crashed’ in the United States or elsewhere. Honeybees are not going ‘extinct.’ Crops are not ‘in trouble,’” he insisted.

Using U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) data, Entine posted a graph on the GLP website showing that honey-producing bee colonies in the U.S. are holding relatively steady at about 2.5 million colonies between 1995 and 2017. In fact, according to USDA figures, the U.S. honeybee population hit a 22-year high in 2016 before dipping slightly in 2017.

Read full, original article: How Colony Collapse Disorder Affects Honeybees and Humans