by Dewey M. Caron, Communications and Content Specialist for the Oregon Master Beekeeper Program
How are your colonies wintering?
The annual PNWsurvey is now open. https://pnwhoneybeesurvey.com/ (click on !Take the Survey!). It extends mid-March through April. After you have had a chance to open your colonies and assess your winter success, please take the time to enter your data in the survey. It should take less than 5 minutes. This year you can fast track your responses and only provide information on overwintering successes/losses. Reports by clubs with 20+ member responses are posted beginning within a month following survey close April 30th to the same website. Ramesh and I also do a commercial beekeeper survey.
The 15-year state-wide record of OR backyarders and commercial beekeepers is shown below: https://pnwhoneybeesurvey.com/survey-results/
I am sure most of you are aware of very high levels of losses being reported by commercial beekeepers the past two winters. According to a survey from Auburn University, overall annual losses for U.S. beekeepers in 2022-23 was 55.1% (37.3% overwintering loss). A preliminary survey by Project Apis m (PAm) of losses this current year, June 2024 to February 202,5 was even higher 62% for 792 commercial beekeepers. Losses of (fewer individual) sideliner and hobbyist beekeeper during the same period was 50% and 54% respectively. Oregon beekeepers, responding to the survey lost between 50,000 and 100,000 colonies. Samples have been taken and are being analyzed; there are several theories being floated for possible reasons for the heavy losses the past two seasons so we await sample analyses.