1. The Fall and Rise of The Honey Bee
By Peter Loring Borst

2. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

3. Who invented electronic digital communication?
A. Bill Gates
B. Al Gore
C. Samuel Morse

5. 1975

6. 1988

7. 2014

8. Honey Bees in Decline

13. 1947

14. That the bee population of the United States has been on the decline for several years is common knowledge to beekeepers. The public however, has not been made aware of how important this decline is. Nor have the implications been brought in to sharp focus.

15. 1974
1974

17. “This isn’t something sudden
“This isn’t something sudden. It’s been happening for years,” Harbo said. “We’re not going to run out of bees. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”

18. The real magnitude of pollinator declines is not easily determined.
Accurate measurements are essential for any meaningful assessment of decline.

19. Source: Randy Oliver
scientificbeekeeping.com

20. Estimated numbers of managed bee hives in the U. S. over the long term
Estimated numbers of managed bee hives in the U.S. over the long term. The peak was reached near the end of WWII, during which farmers were encouraged by the government to keep bees.

22. Since 1961 the reported global stock of commercial managed honey bee hives has increased by approximately 45 per cent

23. FAO STATS ON WORLD BEEKEEPING
Countries with more than one million managed hives

24. The estimate of the number of wild colonies in Africa is 310 million.
Additionally, it was estimated in 1990  that Africanized bees made up hundreds of million colonies in Latin America.
The total wild colonies is probably well over 500 million worldwide.

25. Colony Losses

26. 1921

27. 1947

28. Wintering colonies in proper condition with an abundance of young bees, plenty of stores, plenty of pollen reserves and reasonable protection. All other colonies are removed before the winter period begins. This will decrease the winter loss, but it will increase the number of hives that are empty. From our own experience we find thirty-five out of one hundred hives are empty each spring from all causes and must be replaced one way or another.

30. So we admit frankly that, in our own practice, we do not fool with queenless colonies, drone laying colonies, poor honey producing colonies, with queens no longer tenable, and we do not try to winter any colony which is not in the very best possible shape for winter. Now, is this good practice or bad practice?

31. Winter losses are usually estimated from the number of colonies that fail to survive. These losses average 15 percent, and they sometimes reach 50 per cent.
Actual winter losses may be much greater, because the surviving colonies are below the optimum condition.
C. L. Farrar (1944)

32. Pathogen Webs in Collapsing Honey Bee Colonies, 2012
‘Disappearing diseases’ similar to CCD have long been described in honey bees, and are apparently a recurring feature of domesticated honey bee populations.  
Colonies of the domesticated honey bee have been in decline in the United States for sixty years. This decline has been driven in part by economic forces, including the increased costs of disease management.
Nevertheless, honey bee colony losses in the U.S. have reached new highs in the past several years, exceeding 30% country-wide during the vulnerable winter period.
Pathogen Webs in Collapsing Honey Bee Colonies, 2012

33. Disappearing Disease

34. Disappearing Disease
THE DISEASE OF During the past season a disease suddenly appeared in Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee, sweeping away whole apiaries. So quiet were its operations that the bee-keepers became aware of its existence only by the disappearance of their bees.
The hives were left, in most cases, full of honey, but with no brood and little pollen; the whole appearance of the hive causing the casual observer to suppose that the bees had “emigrated;” but close observation showed that they had died.  

35. 1966

36. Disappearing Disease
During recent winters beekeepers in some parts of California have been puzzled by what appears to be a rather rapid disappearance of bees from their hives. Strong colonies heavy with honey and pollen, apparently at their prime for overwintering, suddenly start to decline for no apparent reason during autumn, and collapse within six weeks.
The disorder is now officially known as “Autumn Collapse” but has also been called “disappearing disease” because no sick or dead bees could be found in failing colonies. The disorder has caused loss of up to 90 per cent of the colonies in affected apiaries. Similar losses have occurred in parts of Louisiana, Texas, Alabama and New Mexico. The disorder was first noticed during the winter of

37. 1966

38. Disappearing Disease
Disappearing disease of honey bees has been observed by beekeepers in at least 27 states and in every geographical region of the United States.
Inspectors describe occasions when adult worker bees disappeared during periods of cool, damp weather or when an adult population failed to build up for no identifiable reason.
One large scale queen breeder and several commercial beekeepers indicated that they had experienced DD and that in some cases large numbers of colonies were affected.

39. The Marketplace

42. Despite attention given to pathogens, parasites and pesticides, those factors may not bear primary responsibility for the long-term downward trend in the number of US honey bee colonies which was underway well before the arrival of parasitic mites and problems with CCD.
Calderone, 2012

43. Parasitic Mites Introduced into U.S

44. The beekeeping industry has proven remarkably resilient, replacing colonies that die throughout the year in time for the next season. This resiliency may be based on economic factors, especially the price of honey and opportunities for pollination contracts.
Economic opportunities may play a greater role in explaining the long-term trend than other factors.
Calderone, 2012

45.  Border closed to US packages

47. To maintain its competitive position, the beekeeping industry will need to develop a sustainable, market-based system of bee breeding and colony management that can continue to provide an adequate and reliable supply of high quality, healthy pollinators at competitive prices.
Calderone, 2012

49. U. S. Fruit Production and Value

50. Almonds

52. A preliminary analysis of the data show that the mortality rate over the winter varied between countries, ranging from 6% in Norway to 14 % in Portugal, and there were also marked regional differences within most countries.
The overall proportion of colonies lost was 9%, the lowest since the international working group started collecting data in 2007.

53. The Fall and Rise
of The Honey Bee