Iowa honey bees may be staging comeback

After enduring years of losses due to bee-killing insects and inclement weather, Iowa honey bee producers with five or more colonies are reporting an increase in the number of colonies.

A total of 16,500 Iowa honey bee colonies were reported to the U.S. Department of Agriculture as of Jan. 1, 2016, 32 percent above the 12,500 colonies on Jan. 1, 2015.

The agency said 3,200 honey bee colonies were lost in Iowa in the first quarter of this year, 3 percent above the number lost during the same quarter of 2015. Bee-killing Varroa mites have been the principal cause of colony death in the last five quarters.

Andrew Joseph, state apiarist and bee expert, said winter honey bee losses, typically 15 percent to 20 percent, are expected to be much lower this year due to milder weather.

'Overall it was a shorter winter without extended cold periods like we have had in recent years,” he said. 'If you look back two years, we had polar vortexes and arctic blasts. Those can be really stressful on bees.”

The third quarter of 2015 had the largest maximum number of colonies at 37,000.

Honey production in Iowa rose 20 percent last year, recovering from a disastrous 2014 when it hit the lowest point since 2010.

Honey from Iowa producers with five or more colonies totaled 1.80 million pounds in 2015, up from the 1.51 million pounds produced in 2014. The number of honey producing colonies in the state rose from 35,000 colonies in 2014 to 36,000 colonies last year.

Yield per colony in Iowa averaged 50 pounds, up from 43 pounds per colony in 2014. The state ranked 18th nationally in honey production last year, up one notch from 2014.

Iowa's 2015 honey crop was valued at $4.19 million, an increase of about 16 percent from the previous year's $3.63 million. The average price per pound was $2.33, down 8 cents from 2014.