Honey bees in decline

[Chris Luck]

I constantly read about honey bees being in decline, huge colony losses etc much of it from apparently reliable sources, latest one to fall in my lap is from INRA, (Institut national de la recherche agronomique), who are Internationally recognised for their independence and high standards of expertise.

Now I know I'm different from many in that I don't use any treatments, don't make any inspections, allow my bees to swarm and try to catch most of them. This leads to a situation where I always have too many bee colonies and have to find homes for a substantial number every year.

Any losses that I have are all what I would consider to be natural and Queen related.

What I would like to know is if bees are really in such a sorry state what is different about mine bearing in mind I live in the middle of intensively cultivated land that is constantly being sprayed? (No, I don't like the sprays in fact I detest them).

This is a serious question.

Chris

 

[Alabamaeee]

Chris, I think the main reason is that you live in a an area with plenty of forage. Here large parts of the UK that used to have bee friendly crops are now growing mono culture crops, plus most of the hedgerows are slashed to pieces by modern machinery on a regular basis.

 

[rolande]

Chris, I think the main reason is that you live in a an area with plenty of forage

I doubt that's the 'main reason', based on a post he made on another forum a couple of weeks ago re his harvest this year.

 

[mbc]

Of course honey bees are in decline, they go into decline every autumn, dont panic, those who make it through the winter should pick up again come the spring.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

I doubt that's the 'main reason', based on a post he made on another forum a couple of weeks ago re his harvest this year.

Link please.

I think others will dispute the idea that agricultural Britain is a monoculture desert. I cannot opine, but I have ample forage in a non-agricultural area (although, sadly, only one crop plant, lime trees) and without the beek having a clue, my bees seem to be booming.

 

[Chris Luck]

I doubt that's the 'main reason', based on a post he made on another forum a couple of weeks ago re his harvest this year.

Quite so, natural forage in my region is disappearing year on year in fact virtually the only place for miles around with anything other tha crops is my own land. The hedgerows are almost all gone and the roadsides are continually slashed every time a flower dare show itself. Yields across France are declining as every piece of marginal land is turned into cereal production; OSR, Maize, Wheat, Barley and Sunflowers with just the odd patch here and there in some places of Alfalfa, Melons, Fodder peas and Tobacco. From this only OSR and Sunflowers are of any use and only if the weather is OK in a very small window, too cold this year for anything much from Sunflower. Garden environments and periurban districts produce the best yields and greatest diversity......

....but this isn't about yields, it's about the scale of colony losses that some people are experiencing.

Chris

 

[rolande]

Of course honey bees are in decline, they go into decline every autumn, dont panic, those who make it through the winter should pick up again come the spring.

whether they do or not is sometimes dependent on who's writing the report as for us, we've already made the 2015 increase that we want as well as a few spares which (in the hard world of statistics) could be thought of as replacements for winter losses; in reality, if previous years are anything to go by the bulk of them will actually be 'bonus' colonies for next year.

 

[Chris Luck]

This is mine.

https://www.facebook.com/wildbeekeeper

Can I put that? It would be nice if I can, it's Wildlife in France.

Chris

 

[mbc]

whether they do or not is sometimes dependent on who's writing the report as for us, we've already made the 2015 increase that we want as well as a few spares which (in the hard world of statistics) could be thought of as replacements for winter losses; in reality, if previous years are anything to go by the bulk of them will actually be 'bonus' colonies for next year.

Indeed rolande, increase is easy in good years and after two crackers on the bounce my apiaries are bursting with bees, and though I hate to capitolise on the misfortune of others, I predict bees will be going for top dollar next spring, as although every other competent beekeeper in Britain will also have benefited from the good seasons, I shouldnt think there'll be many bees arriving from the continent next year.
Sorry to hijack your thread Chris but it does sort of follow the theme that bees arent really in decline.

 

[rolande]

I constantly read about honey bees being in decline, huge colony losses etc much of it from apparently reliable sources.......

.....What I would like to know is if bees are really in such a sorry state what is different about mine

Possibly YOU.

OK, it's not necessary to keep bees the way that you do to avoid the losses which we keep hearing about (more than one way to get the same result) but there is a recurring pattern where the same people seem to be claiming high losses while others aren't.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

I'd dispute that honeybees are in continual decline, there seem to be some very dodgy statistics trying to back that up.

Certainly well managed colonies that have their varroa, stores and general health monitored and acted upon (I know this is not the point Chris was trying to make) seem to be able to thrive and replicate as long as the weather allows, making up for any poor climatic conditions that can cause decline.

 

[rolande]

I shouldnt think there'll be many bees arriving from the continent next year.
Sorry to hijack your thread Chris but it does sort of follow the theme that bees arent really in decline.

I bet there are a few New Zealand bee farmers going into the start of their season with a keen eye on current developments.

 

[itma]

I constantly read about honey bees being in decline, huge colony losses etc …

What I would like to know is if bees are really in such a sorry state ...

This is a serious question.

Chris

Chris, in the USA many of the industrial-scale beekeepers are suffering a ridiculously high proportion of losses annually. And they are getting publicity for their problem - which I personally think might have something to do with the ways they use their bees and 'care' for them.

In the UK, wild pollinators are in general decline - in the countryside.
Personally, I think that monoculturalism is one principal cause.
It is important to realise that the problem is increasing monocultures on the scale of that insect's foraging range - not on a 'human' scale.
And given that difficulty, any extra impediments (like neonics) can have a disproportionately large effect.
I have no doubt whatsoever that varroa has dramatically reduced the truly wild (as opposed to recently absconded) honeybee population.

And then there's the weather. I gather it has been a difficult summer for French beekeepers. The long UK winter-before-last caught out a shocking number of unprepared and/or inattentive beekeepers. I know of one that managed to lose something like 30 out of his 40 colonies. Certainly the climate in the UK is becoming more extreme, and if that is making things hard for beekeepers, it'll be making it at least as hard for wild pollinators.



All these completely distinct themes (and likely others as well) do get wrapped up together into a single story of "decline".
But (as usual with bees) its not quite that simple …

 

[Chris Luck]

Actually the problem with the weather this year in much of France has only really affected the two crops, OSR and Sunflowers which both have relatively short flowering seasons and require specific temperatures and good weather but it needs to be said that if honey yields are going to depend on a couple of crops, (a situation that is set to increase), then we really are in trouble as far as honey production goes.

The weather here this year will have had no negative impact on garden flowers or indeed other native flowers which will have produced in greater abundance due to the lower temperatures. The problem is that in the French countryside these hardly exist now and even if you live near a village the French tend to favour Geraniums which are not much good for anything except the Geranium moth that has come from South Africa.

Chris

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What I would like to know is if bees are really in such a sorry state what is different about mine

Nothing, your bees are no different to mine or any others (well, maybe a few on here more likely to experience winter loss) - the decline in bees is mostly an impression marketed by those organisations jumping on the band wagon and eager to make profit from donations sent by concerned people - This is a serious answer

 

[Chris Luck]

I'm rather inclined to agree but it does as you imply seem to depend on who one asks.

Still interested in any other comments.

Chris

 

[thorn]

Link please.

I think others will dispute the idea that agricultural Britain is a monoculture desert. I cannot opine, but I have ample forage in a non-agricultural area (although, sadly, only one crop plant, lime trees) and without the beek having a clue, my bees seem to be booming.

Those of us who drive regularly from Leeds to Essex while the OSR is in bloom have good grounds for suggesting that there is a monoculture desert either side of the A1 and the A14. But perhaps it's just a narrow strip down 150 miles of the country.

 

[user 6228]

Honeybee in decline ... I am up to my neck in building foam hives for all the new colonies that have declined to cease to exist! I'm going to have words with the beekeeper that the hive production dept is not amused!

 

[REDWOOD]

I Know the feeling, extra bees means extra boxes, feeders, crown boards, feeder boards, floors, stands, roofs, insulation screws, wood, glue, paint, wood, queen excludes and that's without frames and foundation. Where do I find the time to work lol

 

[clv101]

Honey bee decline? So does anyone actually have good data in UK honey bee colony numbers over the last decade? Surely NBU, BFA & BBKA make estimates?