Why are honey bees for pollination in short supply?
In the mid-1980s, two new species of predaceous mites established themselves in the US. They have been infesting and killing both managed and wild colonies ever since. Finally, across the US, most wild honey bee colonies have been killed leaving only managed colonies to provide honey bee pollination services. The mites can be controlled in managed colonies. Concurrent with the colony decline, honey prices have risen causing some beekeepers to allocate colonies to honey production rather than crop pollination. Therefore, there are fewer honey bee colonies and many of the remaining colonies are being directed toward honey production.
