Critical honeybee populations are being wiped out; cause is mystifying beekeepers
“There's mold on the frames," Oliver said. "The bees just are not big enough to keep a healthy hive. This is a hive that won't last another couple of weeks.”
He added that in spring last year, they had over 2,000 hives but have lost over 50%.
Something Oliver said is reminiscent of Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, in 2007, which devastated commercial honeybee populations across the U.S., killing around 1 million out of the roughly 2.4 million colonies.
“It's devastating," Oliver said. "We took larger losses than we ever have, even through CCD back in 2007. We didn't see losses like this. This is just, it's just devastating. Not only financially, but emotionally and everything else.”
Just like 2007, Oliver isn’t alone.
A survey from APIS, a nonprofit dedicated to beekeeping, found that over 1.8 million colonies have been lost between June 2024 and February this year.
Eric said it’s been a mystery figuring out the issue.
“No matter what we did. We just really weren't seeing the hives grow the way we wanted them to or even maintain their strength,” he said.
Eric Oliver’s father Randy Oliver is a world-renowned bee researcher and said so far, the usual suspects that cause mass colony collapses, have been ruled out.
“There's additional losses that are happening this year and those to date are still unexplained,” Randy said.
He’s currently working with USDA researchers on the cause and said there are some early indications from what he’s seen.
“The reason that I suspect that it’s possibly a pathogen, is that in the same yards where we saw colonies dwindling, they didn't all collapse,” Randy said.
A nationwide collapse is happening, as 90% of the country's commercial bees are descending on the state for what’s known as the "super bowl" of beekeeping, pollinating 1.5 million acres of almond orchards — an area roughly the same size as Delaware.
But as the trees are already in bloom, there’s only so much farmers can do, as Fresno County Farm Bureau President Ryan Jacobsen explained.
“As far as this current almond season, not a lot we could do," Jacobsen said. "Except just kind of wait to see what, what actually took place as far as the pollination.”
Ryan Jacobsen is an almond farmer himself and said farmers in his area have been able to find bees, albeit for some, not as many as they’d like.
He said come June they'll have a better idea of just well the pollination went when the flowers turn into almonds.
Eric Oliver said farming always comes with ups-and-downs but hopes this down won’t wipe he and others out.
“It's a disaster, right away for some period of time," Eric Oliver said. "And then, you know, it ebbs and flows, and hopefully it won't be a long-lasting disaster.”
Eric Oliver said a small silver lining, the abundance of almond blossoms giving the bees strength at a time when flowers are scarce, and the bees need it.
He added that in spring last year, they had over 2,000 hives but have lost over 50%.
Something Oliver said is reminiscent of Colony Collapse Disorder, or CCD, in 2007, which devastated commercial honeybee populations across the U.S., killing around 1 million out of the roughly 2.4 million colonies.
“It's devastating," Oliver said. "We took larger losses than we ever have, even through CCD back in 2007. We didn't see losses like this. This is just, it's just devastating. Not only financially, but emotionally and everything else.”
Just like 2007, Oliver isn’t alone.
A survey from APIS, a nonprofit dedicated to beekeeping, found that over 1.8 million colonies have been lost between June 2024 and February this year.
Eric said it’s been a mystery figuring out the issue.
“No matter what we did. We just really weren't seeing the hives grow the way we wanted them to or even maintain their strength,” he said.
Eric Oliver’s father Randy Oliver is a world-renowned bee researcher and said so far, the usual suspects that cause mass colony collapses, have been ruled out.
“There's additional losses that are happening this year and those to date are still unexplained,” Randy said.
He’s currently working with USDA researchers on the cause and said there are some early indications from what he’s seen.
“The reason that I suspect that it’s possibly a pathogen, is that in the same yards where we saw colonies dwindling, they didn't all collapse,” Randy said.
A nationwide collapse is happening, as 90% of the country's commercial bees are descending on the state for what’s known as the "super bowl" of beekeeping, pollinating 1.5 million acres of almond orchards — an area roughly the same size as Delaware.
But as the trees are already in bloom, there’s only so much farmers can do, as Fresno County Farm Bureau President Ryan Jacobsen explained.
“As far as this current almond season, not a lot we could do," Jacobsen said. "Except just kind of wait to see what, what actually took place as far as the pollination.”
Ryan Jacobsen is an almond farmer himself and said farmers in his area have been able to find bees, albeit for some, not as many as they’d like.
He said come June they'll have a better idea of just well the pollination went when the flowers turn into almonds.
Eric Oliver said farming always comes with ups-and-downs but hopes this down won’t wipe he and others out.
“It's a disaster, right away for some period of time," Eric Oliver said. "And then, you know, it ebbs and flows, and hopefully it won't be a long-lasting disaster.”
Eric Oliver said a small silver lining, the abundance of almond blossoms giving the bees strength at a time when flowers are scarce, and the bees need it.
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