Wisconsin honey bee colonies totaled 25,000 as of the first of the year--a whopping 56 percent increase compared to the same time a year earlier, according to the Wisconsin Ag Statistics Service.
The annual summary noted that producers boosted their inventory by moving colonies into Wisconsin and adding colonies to a maximum of 37,000 during the first quarter of this year. Since January 2020, the third quarter of last year had the largest maximum number of colonies with 68,000.
Varroa mites were once again the main stressor for operations with at least five or more colonies during the past year.
Nationally, there were 2.92 million colonies in the U.S., which was up two percent from early 2020.
Categories: Wisconsin, General