Honeybees aren't native to the Americas, they were imported from Europe. Wild ones are escaped feral bees, and they are still out there, though certainly much fewer.

I've kept my one hobby hive find for a few years now with no insecticide, no corn syrup, just serve-yourself flowers. I've heard organic beekeepers are not suffering from CCD.

The mites came from asia, and like measles or smallpox introduced into a new population, they are devastating until the populations come into balance and develop some resistance; that's been happening for some years now, varroa are no longer certain doom (I have a sticky board and keep catching a few varroa mites, but it has never got bad - maybe I haven't hit this 4-year rule). Certainly nothing was "over" for bees that I heard of when I started researching prior to getting my bees. Beekeeping is alive and well in Oregon.

Anything buzzing around your peanut butter and jelly was probably a yellow jacket, I've never seen a honeybee (or bumble or ground or mason bee) do that.

Lisa in Oregon, very amatuer beekeeper

Lisa:

Slate has a tendency for the dramatic so you are correct in recognizing the tone. Also correct on the yellow jacket buzzing soda cans or your sandwich. Great answer!

Question - I live in so cal - I find it is very hard to find knowledgable people with regard to bee's here. For instance, in our community we have an enormous hive. I have tried to email, call and write to so called bee professionals to get answers of how to relocate these bees before some dumkauf comes with his can of bee killer a attempts to get rid of them. I cannot get anyone who is in this profession to aid in this - Does this mean there is nothing set up by the state or agriculture commission to try and rescue sizable hives? If we have such a grave problem where are the active task forces to help citizen save their bees in their own communities? Thanks for any advise or help.

Call the local Agriculture co-op extension or the nearest University Entomolgy or Agriculture Dept. on hive relocation.

good points.

i've been interested in getting started with a small hive. is it a very difficult 'hobby' to cultivate?

Hello Lisa,

Glad to hear that your bees are doing well - I wrote the article, by the way. I do have a friend in nearby Oakland, CA who was organic in her beekeeping, but lost both of her hives to CCD. Still, she's an urban beekeeper, so it's highly possible that her neighbors were using pesticides on their flowerbeds, etc. etc.

Since I wrote the article, I've heard a few heartening stories of wild honeybee resurgence (for some reason, they all seem to be in Oregon or Maine or Vermont.) It's too bad there's so little year-to-year (or even decade-to-decade) data on feral honeybees (and native bees, for that matter.) One hopes that all of this juicy federal money that is going in to CCD and pollinator research will include some pesticide research and copious amounts of data gathering.

I'm not sure if honeybees NEVER hit up a juicy sandwich, but you are right in that yellowjackets are way more into that kind of scene.

As of a few days ago, Congress was still considering giving this "juicy federal money" for CCD and pollinator research. It wasn't a done deal. For the record, I support having my tax money go toward researching CCD and pollination methods, so that our country doesn't become dependent on foreign food the way we're dependent on foreign oil. I can think of many, many worse ways to spend tax money.