I ran into Jerry Tate from Tate's Honey Farm at the Rocket Bakery this morning. I asked him how his bees are doing and he said they are great, but added that Western Washington Beekeepers are really hurting. I probed for more information and he explained that based on the research of the state beekeepers association, 45% of Washington bee colonies have collapsed (died) west of Ritzville. By contrast, only 25% of colonies to the east of Ritzville have suffered that fate, which is about average for beekeepers since the rise in recent years of varroa mites and the phenomenon known as colony collapse disorder. The survey included all state beekeepers with over 1,000 colonies.
Jerry's hunch is that the late supply of nectar in the Spokane region helped eastern Washington bees whereas western Washington bees didn't have as much available late in the summer. From what I've read, the onset of colony collapse usually has a multiple factors that conspire together. It's a good lesson in the complex nature of the environment. We'd like to think there is one innovation that will fix everything, when it's actually the systems and the interactions of a variety of factors that need to be addressed.
One bit of trivia I learned from Jerry is that many western washington beekeepers send their bees to the Dakota's for part of the summer. He also mentioned that California bees also come north and spend some time in Washington before heading east to the Dakotas.
Jerry and others from the state association will meet with the state Secretary of Agriculture tomorrow in Olympia. Our state's economy is incredibly dependent on tree fruit, especially apples, and without bees to pollinate the trees there won't be any apples.
We have friends who were bee keepers and the colony die off is a huge deal that has not been shared with people. Too many people think: Bees? Who cares. More people need to understand that we all need to care. Thanks for the update.
Posted by: Erin | February 26, 2010 at 07:38 PM