Honey Bee Colony Numbers Still Down

By Paula Mohr

Honey bee colonies for operations with five or more colonies in Minnesota as of January 1, 2016 totaled 37,000 colonies, according to the Minnesota Field Office of USDA’s National Ag Statistics Service.

This is 32% above the 28,000 colonies on January 1, 2015. However, by the end of the first quarters in 2015 and 2016, after additional bee colonies moved into the state, there were 74,000 and 39,000, respectively. So 2016 started with nearly half as many bee colonies, compared to 2015.

During 2015, honey bee colonies on April 1, July 1, and October 1 were 71,000, 133,000 and 104,000, respectively. The quarter of July-September 2015 had the largest maximum number of colonies, with 136,000, while January-March 2016 had the smallest maximum number of colonies with 39,000.