Honeybee populations across US and Alabama in major decline

Honeybee populations across US and Alabama in major decline






LOXLEY, Ala. (WALA) - Africanized honeybees have been discovered again in Alabama. That’s the word from the Alabama Department of Agriculture in a press release Monday. Commonly known as killer bees for their aggressive nature, the colony was discovered swarming in Barbour County in southeast Alabama.


This is a huge concern because for every colony lost, it will take up to three years to rebuild and many commercial bee farmers will be out of business.(Hal Scheurich)




Brandon Hargraves is a Baldwin County beekeeper and apiary inspector with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industry (ADAI). His B’s Bees honey and other products are sourced through the 500 or so hives he manages. FOX10 News has highlighted his work, removing one swarm from the public beach in Fairhope and another from a tree near a popular fast-food restaurant. It’s a passion for Hargraves and he put into perspective what the recent discovery of Africanized bees in Barbour County means.

“The state of Alabama has had bees in it for so long that I feel like we have such a dense population that the way that bees reproduce, that they can’t really get a foothold in the state and take over or something like that,” Hargraves explained. “That’s not even a possibility in my opinion.”

Hargraves said the bigger concern is what he’s seeing with our European honeybee colonies across the country and here at home. They’ve been in massive decline. Household flower and vegetable gardens that normally attract natures pollinators have seen very little action. Nationwide data bears out what we’ve seen here.

“We saw this year so far, numbers showing around a seventy-percent loss among commercial beekeepers, overall beekeepers across the nation, which is very concerning because normally, it’s been between forty and forty-five-percent, so we’ve had a big jump in it,” Hargraves said.


This is a huge concern because for every colony lost, it will take up to three years to rebuild and many commercial bee farmers will be out of business.

A type of invasive mite is to blame for much of the decline by spreading viral loads throughout bee colonies. Even while scientists work to find solutions to that problem, there are many other stressors honeybees face including pesticides, mosquito fogging and development.

“And so, a lot of this clean, healthy forage for these bees is going away and so, we’re not replacing that so there’s things I think we can do as a community to help offset these things that we, in a way are causing,” Hargraves said.

Hargraves suggests planting shrubs or trees like vitex around your property which will bloom during a time when other forage plants are not. He also recommends keeping mosquito fogging times to dusk and dawn when pollinators are dormant.






Africanized honeybees have been discovered again in Alabama. That’s the word from the Alabama Department of Agriculture in a press release Monday. Commonly known as killer bees for their aggressive nature, the colony was discovered swarming in Barbour County in southeast Alabama.


This is a huge concern because for every colony lost, it will take up to three years to rebuild and many commercial bee farmers will be out of business.(Hal Scheurich)




Brandon Hargraves is a Baldwin County beekeeper and apiary inspector with the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industry (ADAI). His B’s Bees honey and other products are sourced through the 500 or so hives he manages. FOX10 News has highlighted his work, removing one swarm from the public beach in Fairhope and another from a tree near a popular fast-food restaurant. It’s a passion for Hargraves and he put into perspective what the recent discovery of Africanized bees in Barbour County means.

“The state of Alabama has had bees in it for so long that I feel like we have such a dense population that the way that bees reproduce, that they can’t really get a foothold in the state and take over or something like that,” Hargraves explained. “That’s not even a possibility in my opinion.”

Hargraves said the bigger concern is what he’s seeing with our European honeybee colonies across the country and here at home. They’ve been in massive decline. Household flower and vegetable gardens that normally attract natures pollinators have seen very little action. Nationwide data bears out what we’ve seen here.

“We saw this year so far, numbers showing around a seventy-percent loss among commercial beekeepers, overall beekeepers across the nation, which is very concerning because normally, it’s been between forty and forty-five-percent, so we’ve had a big jump in it,” Hargraves said.


This is a huge concern because for every colony lost, it will take up to three years to rebuild and many commercial bee farmers will be out of business.

A type of invasive mite is to blame for much of the decline by spreading viral loads throughout bee colonies. Even while scientists work to find solutions to that problem, there are many other stressors honeybees face including pesticides, mosquito fogging and development.

“And so, a lot of this clean, healthy forage for these bees is going away and so, we’re not replacing that so there’s things I think we can do as a community to help offset these things that we, in a way are causing,” Hargraves said.

Hargraves suggests planting shrubs or trees like vitex around your property which will bloom during a time when other forage plants are not. He also recommends keeping mosquito fogging times to dusk and dawn when pollinators are dormant.