Karen Rennich,
Executive
Director of the
Bee Informed
Partnership, Inc.
average, which hides the huge variability in what beekeepers (of all operational sizes) report at their operation-
level. Therefore, we also report the percentage of operations that reported losses in excess of what they consider
acceptable.
Long term studies such as this one are critical to understand the trends affecting honey bee health. Though the total
number of honey bee colonies has
been relatively stable in the last 20
years at the national level, the high
turnover rate of colonies reported
in this survey is indicative of the
struggles of commercial operations
and the high investment in time and
energy required to maintain healthy
colonies in the U.S.
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M A Y – J U N E 2 0 1 8
