Lasting from October to March, almond pollinating season in California simply ended. After, a beekeeper would possibly observe a number of of the routes described under:
Plant Pollinators’ Routes
This yr although, shrinking pollination populations have made honey bee worries worse.
Honeybee Worries
Pondering of a honey bee colony, we will think about a single queen and 25,000 to 40,000 employee bees. Nonetheless, throughout 2006 in Florida, beekeepers mysteriously misplaced as a lot as two-thirds of their honeybee colonies. Beginning a brand new chapter in honey bee historical past, Colony Collapse Dysfunction (CCD) had begun.
Whereas colonies all the time had a mortality fee that was near 14%, CCD upped it to 30%. Since then, we’ve had good and unhealthy years. Nonetheless, between 2020 and 2025, the industry contracted by 2.9%. With 70% of the U.S. honeybee population threatened, honey bee worries got worse when 2.8 million colonies collapsed in 2024.
Described by a beekeeper, “They’re perfectly fine. They all look healthy as can be. You’ll come back in two weeks, and all there’s gonna be there is a queen.”
When hives disappear, beekeepers have three replacement strategies:
- They might divide a healthy hive.
- They could purchase packaged bees.
- They could replace the queen.
Below you can see mind-boggling numbers of honey bees doing their job:
Our Backside Line: Honey Bee Markets
Taking a look at previous pollinator-related markets, researchers counsel that CCD has had an influence:
With almonds although, the pop was substantial:
And now, reflecting the provide aspect shortages from CCD, the worth of a queen doubled from $15 to $30. When a beekeeper tried to find 2,000, they got here up with 200.
As economists, we will ask if the provide aspect incentive of a better worth will assist to unravel the CCD drawback.
My sources and extra: Due to the NY Instances for the colony collapse replace. From there we returned to this paper and Scientific American,.
