Beekeepers

September 27, 2023

One of the side stories in my New York Times feed addressed the widespread belief that honeybees are in danger.  Even though the honeybee is not on the endangered list, many are under the impression they will soon go extinct.  Since the honeybee (and other bee species) is known for its role in agriculture, the blame for Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is often placed on the agriculture industry and the use of pesticides.  An analysis by The Washington Post (published in 2017) showed bee numbers are sitting at close to historical highs.  The research showed that since CCD was identified the number of honeybee colonies has risen from 2.4 million to 2.7 million between 2006 and 2014.  The Post’s report came after another major announcement that the rate of loss among honeybee colonies due to CCD had reached its lowest point in years.  While some loss in individual bee numbers over the winter months is expected, beekeepers are not seeing the dramatic loss of hives that were suggested.

When I looked online, I found beekeepers are also called honey farmers, apiarists, or less commonly, apiculturists (Latin apis, bee; compare apiary).  The term beekeeper refers to a person who owns hives, or boxes and associated equipment for the honeybees but does not control the bees.  The bees are free to forage or leave (swarm) as they desire.  Bees will usually return to the beekeeper’s hive as this provides a clean, dark, sheltered home.  Honeybees produce honey, beeswax, pollen, propolis, and royal jelly which can all be sold.  Some beekeepers also raise queens and other bees to sell to other farmers.  These honeybees provide pollination services to fruit and vegetable growers.  Many people keep bees as a hobby while others keep them for income either as a sideline or as a commercial operator.  All these factors can affect the number of colonies maintained by beekeepers.

Sideline beekeepers attempt to make a profit keeping bees but rely on another source of income.  A sideliner may operate up to 300 colonies of bees, producing 10–20 metric tons of honey worth tens of thousands of US dollars each year.  Commercial beekeepers control hundreds or thousands of colonies of bees.  The most extensive operations own and manage up to 50,000 colonies of bees and produce millions of pounds of honey.  The first major commercial beekeeper was Petro Prokopovych from Ukraine who operated 6600 colonies in the early 19th century.  Moses Quinby was the first commercial beekeeper in the US, with 1200 colonies by the 1840’s.  During the 1960’s and 1970’s, Jim Powers of Idaho had 30,000 honey producing hives.  Miel Carlota operated by partners Arturo Wulfrath and Juan Speck of Mexico operated over 50,000 hives of honeybees from 1920 to 1960.  Today, Adee Honey Farm in South Dakota operates 80,000 colonies and Comvita in New Zealand operates over 30,000 colonies, making them among the world’s largest beekeepers.  Commercial beekeepers only number about 5% of the individuals with bees but produce about 60% of the world’s honey crop.  Despite the reports, commercial beekeepers are on the rise, especially in high-value markets such as pollination in North America and New Zealand.

Thoughts:  Honeybees are not native to the Americas, so beekeepers and farmers help preserve the honeybee population, despite other wild bee species experiencing loss.  My son considered putting several hives in his back yard.  While this was admirable, I cautioned him as he had two small children.  A friend kept hives and while this may not be the norm, I was stung every time I was there.  You can also grow native plants to attract many species of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators and you should monitor your insecticide use closely and follow all label instructions.  Most of all, educate children (and others) about the importance of bees and other pollinators to make better stewards of the next generation.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.