Texas bee decline. New filings, studies and numbers. Every item links to its source.
USDA count for operations with 5+ colonies. Started the quarter at 154,000; peak 235,000 after about 81,000 hives were moved into Texas. NASS loss rate 7% is figured against the peak; against the starting count it is 10.6%. Added = new or replacement colonies made by splitting or bought. Renovated = requeened or given a package or nuc.
Percent of Texas colonies affected, as reported by beekeepers to USDA (a colony can have more than one): varroa mites 17.9%, other pests and parasites 1.8%, diseases <0.5%, pesticides 1.2%, other 8.5%, unknown 4.3%.
USDA count for operations with 5+ colonies. Started the quarter at 139,000; peak 156,000 after about 17,000 hives were moved into Texas. NASS loss rate 5% is figured against the peak; against the starting count it is 5.8%. Added = new or replacement colonies made by splitting or bought. Renovated = requeened or given a package or nuc.
Percent of Texas colonies affected, as reported by beekeepers to USDA (a colony can have more than one): varroa mites 12.2%, other pests and parasites 6.1%, diseases 1.4%, pesticides 3.5%, other 2%, unknown 2.6%.
USDA count for operations with 5+ colonies. Started the quarter at 355,000; peak 375,000 after about 20,000 hives were moved into Texas. NASS loss rate 8% is figured against the peak; against the starting count it is 8.7%. Added = new or replacement colonies made by splitting or bought. Renovated = requeened or given a package or nuc.
USDA count for operations with 5+ colonies. Started the quarter at 330,000; peak 380,000 after about 50,000 hives were moved into Texas. NASS loss rate 8% is figured against the peak; against the starting count it is 9.1%. Added = new or replacement colonies made by splitting or bought. Renovated = requeened or given a package or nuc.
Percent of Texas colonies affected, as reported by beekeepers to USDA (a colony can have more than one): varroa mites 11.2%, other pests and parasites 7%, diseases 0.8%, pesticides 4.3%, other 3%, unknown 0.7%.
Percent of Texas colonies affected, as reported by beekeepers to USDA (a colony can have more than one): varroa mites 17%, other pests and parasites 8%, diseases 7%, pesticides 6.8%, other 2%, unknown 4.8%.
USDA count for operations with 5+ colonies. Started the quarter at 225,000; peak 335,000 after about 110,000 hives were moved into Texas. NASS loss rate 11% is figured against the peak; against the starting count it is 16.9%. Added = new or replacement colonies made by splitting or bought. Renovated = requeened or given a package or nuc.
USDA count for operations with 5+ colonies. Started the quarter at 162,000; peak 300,000 after about 138,000 hives were moved into Texas. NASS loss rate 8% is figured against the peak; against the starting count it is 15.4%. Added = new or replacement colonies made by splitting or bought. Renovated = requeened or given a package or nuc.
Percent of Texas colonies affected, as reported by beekeepers to USDA (a colony can have more than one): varroa mites 18.9%, other pests and parasites 2.5%, diseases 0.5%, pesticides 7.4%, other 3.5%, unknown 0.7%.
Percent of Texas colonies affected, as reported by beekeepers to USDA (a colony can have more than one): varroa mites 27%, other pests and parasites 14%, diseases 4.2%, pesticides 10.3%, other 5.3%, unknown 5.3%.
State-by-state colony counts, losses, additions and stressors, including Texas. Open the release for the figures.
The 2025-26 U.S. Beekeeping Survey says beekeepers 'can potentially replace lost colonies during the year,' so high losses do not necessarily shrink colony counts. It puts the 2025 national total near 2.41 million colonies, the lowest since 2008.
U.S. Beekeeping Survey (Auburn University, Oregon State University, Apiary Inspectors of America), April 2025 to April 2026. Overall managed-colony loss was 39.9%. Backyard 54.8% [CI 46.5-62.2], commercial 38.7% [CI 28.3-52.2]. The survey notes this reverses the previous two years, when commercial operations lost more. Beekeepers' own 'acceptable' winter loss averaged 21.1%.
University of Illinois farmdoc daily (Altschuler, Goodrich, Janzen, May 8, 2026), using USDA's $129-per-colony value. Colony losses themselves cost about $175 million, 29% of $602 million in honey, pollination and other revenue. Added plus renovated colonies exceeded colonies lost every year from 2020 to 2024. The authors write that total inventories 'have remained relatively stable since 2008' while beekeepers lose about 41% of colonies a year.
USDA count for operations with 5+ colonies. Started the quarter at 101,000; peak 190,000 after about 89,000 hives were moved into Texas. NASS loss rate 9% is figured against the peak; against the starting count it is 16.8%. Added = new or replacement colonies made by splitting or bought. Renovated = requeened or given a package or nuc.
USDA count for operations with 5+ colonies. Started the quarter at 88,000; peak 107,000 after about 19,000 hives were moved into Texas. NASS loss rate 7% is figured against the peak; against the starting count it is 8%. Added = new or replacement colonies made by splitting or bought. Renovated = requeened or given a package or nuc.
USDA count for operations with 5+ colonies. Started the quarter at 290,000; peak 300,000 after about 10,000 hives were moved into Texas. NASS loss rate 13% is figured against the peak; against the starting count it is 13.1%. Added = new or replacement colonies made by splitting or bought. Renovated = requeened or given a package or nuc.
USDA count for operations with 5+ colonies. Started the quarter at 205,000; peak 290,000 after about 85,000 hives were moved into Texas. NASS loss rate 10% is figured against the peak; against the starting count it is 13.7%. Added = new or replacement colonies made by splitting or bought. Renovated = requeened or given a package or nuc.
NASS Honey Bee Colonies report (operations with five or more colonies). Jan-Mar 2025: 267,260 colonies lost (10%). Apr-Jun 2025: 292,630 lost (10%). The report carries state-by-state tables including Texas.
Survey estimate for April 2024 to April 2025, highest since the survey began in 2010. Winter loss 40.2%. State-level annual losses ranged from 34.3% to 90.5%. Auburn's survey lead attributed the jump to higher winter losses among commercial beekeepers.