Credit: beecontrolnw.comÂ
There has recently been some good news about the honeybee populations, after several years of alarming reports that their numbers have been making a steep decline towards a possible extinction.
Numbers released from the U.S. Department of Agriculture this week show that there has actually been an increase in the number of bee colonies.
Beekeepers across the country have been diligently working to preserve and redevelop bee colonies, and according to these recent numbers, their efforts are actually working.
The report indicated that the number of bee colonies in the country have finally seen an upturn, increasing from an all-time low of 2.4 million in 2006 to the current figure of 2.7 million.
This is certainly good news, but it strangely contradicts reports that came from the same sources just months ago.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that between 40% and 60% of the country’s bee colonies were disappearing, but now these new numbers from the same agency suggest that efforts to replenish the colonies are actually working. The timing of these reports are strange, because they are so close together and show such different results, but it is possible that the earlier figures had not been able to account for the recent surge in numbers.
The graph below with the updated numbers does seem to show that the bee population has been on a steady decline, but is now finally beginning to return.
