Maryland Beekeepers Ended 2016 With Another Year Of Heavy Losses

‘The year 2016 will be known to Maryland beekeepers as another year of extremely heavy losses. According to Bee Informed Partnership (BIP), losses exceeded 56 percent in 2016. Over a three-year average, Maryland beekeepers have lost 54 percent of their total colonies.
Maryland has approximately 14,000 (plus) registered honeybee colonies, according to Maryland State Agriculture statistics. The average replacement cost per colony is $150 with colonies ranging from a $100 package to $200 per nucleus colony.
This means that beekeepers in Maryland spend over $1.13 million each year to replace the approximately 7,600 lost registered honeybee colonies. These figures do not include lost revenue, lost labor, or losses in potential business growth that would otherwise be possible by splitting healthy colonies.’
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