What

Beepocalypse? Managed beehives worldwide show no signs

of collapse.

UNITED STATES

According to USDA statistics1, the number of honey-producing colonies has been
generally steady since 1995 and has risen five of the last seven years. The number of
managed honeybee hives that produce honey is up nearly 11% since 2006, recovering
after the initial findings of colony collapse disorder. 2

Honey producing U.S bee colonies

3,000,000

2,500,000

2,000,000

1,500,000

1,000,000

500,000

1
http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/MannUsda/viewDocumentInfo.do?documentID=1
191 These stats were compiled using the revised statistics, published two years
later. For example, the 1995 statistics were pulled from the 1997 report. From
USDAs annual report on honey producing colonies. Numbers were compiled using
the revised statistics, published two years later. For example, the 1995 statistics
were pulled from the 1997 report. A separate count, conducted every five years as
part of USDAs agricultural census, tracks honey-producing and non-honey
producing colonies. In the last two census counts, colony numbers rose from 2.9
million in 2007 to 3.3 million in 2012, an increase of 13.7 percent.
2 http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=15572

Year
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

U.S.
honeybee
colonies
2,648,000
2,564,000
2,631,000
2,633,000
2,688,000
2,620,000
2,506,000
2,574,000
2,599,000
2,556,000

Year
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015

U.S.
honeybee
colonies
2,413,000
2,393,000
2,443,000
2,342,000
2,498,000
2,692,000
2,491,000
2,539,000
2,640,000
2,740,000
2,660,000

CANADA

The number of honeybee colonies, including colonies used for pollination, in Canada has
been mostly rising since 1995. Stats Canada data show that the honey colony totals for
the past two years are the highest since 19873 (before a substantial drop associated
with the arrival of Varroa mites4). Between 2009 and 2014, there was a 17 percent
increase in the number of honeybee colonies.













3http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a26?lang=eng&retrLang=eng&id=0010007&pa
Ser=&pattern=&stByVal=1&p1=1&p2=38&tabMode=dataTable&csid, accessed
March 22, 2016
4http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.00985
99

Canada Honeybee Colonies

800,000
700,000
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000
0

Year
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004

Canada
honeybee
colonies
520,982
509,648
519,988
563,614
588,824
599,863
602,328
588,485
563,330
597,890

Year

2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015

Canada
honeybee
colonies
615,541
628,401
589,254
570,070
592,120
620,291
637,920
690,037
667,397
694,217
721,106

EUROPEAN UNION

The trend line in the number of beehives in the European Union has been generally
5
positive since 1995 and risen each of the past five years. The majority of beehives in
Europe are exclusively focused on honey production. 6

European Union Beehives

14000000
12000000
10000000
8000000
6000000
4000000
2000000
0

Year
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003

EU
Beehives
11050345
11111241
10954856
11038629
11074618
11188647
11447700
11460074
11454954

Year
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014

EU Beehives
11537202
11705901
12104149
12110104
11630945
11373978
11540215
11950902
12101896
12265941
12632688

5 http://faostat3.fao.org/download/Q/QA/E accessed December 15, 2016
6
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0082996#pone.
0082996-Potts2

WORLD

The number of beehives worldwide has been rising almost continuously for the past 50
years, according to FAO Stats. 7 There are nearly 13 million more beehives in the world
now than in 2000 an increase of 18 %.

World Beehives
90000000
80000000
70000000
60000000
50000000
40000000
30000000
20000000
0

1961
1963
1965
1967
1969
1971
1973
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2003
2005
2007
2009
2011
2013

10000000

7 http://faostat3.fao.org/download/Q/QA/E accessed December 15, 2016



Year

World Beehives

Year

World Beehives

1961

49173473

1988

68277761

1962

49639027

1989

69236607

1963

49970283

1990

69237913

1964

49625534

1991

70599012

1965

50368109

1992

67385092

1966

52083386

1993

66211192

1967

52288194

1994

65784396

1968

52573800

1995

66019301

1969

53478677

1996

66105778

1970

54019911

1997

66298302

1971

54174200

1998

66878562

1972

54482023

1999

68303588

1973

55310535

2000

70708508

1974

55195675

2001

71972713

1975

55851124

2002

1976

73221834

55740283

1992

1977

67385092

56204567

2003

1978

73186831

57706024

2004

1979

74089294

58491794

2005

1980

75326727

60198428

2006

1981

76183282

62248861

2007

1982

75129311

63622700

1983

64671383

1984

66060290

1985

67458523

1986

67129592

1987

67443256

2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014

76001694
76234190
78163266
78619415
80609941
81587980
83446397