Queen Bee Distilling creates a cleaner vodka
Via Jewish Herald-Voice.
Hive Wire Texas
Texas bee decline. New filings, studies and numbers. Every item links to its source.
Texas, Oct–Dec 2025: 16,300 colonies lost, 16,500 added, 1,600 renovated
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.
Texas, Jul–Sep 2025: 8,000 colonies lost, 3,000 added, 14,500 renovated
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.
Texas, Apr–Jun 2026: 31,000 colonies lost, 62,000 added, 16,500 renovated
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.
Texas, Apr–Jun 2025: 30,000 colonies lost, 68,000 added, 73,000 renovated
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.
Texas, Jan–Mar 2026: 38,000 colonies lost, 59,000 added, 23,000 renovated
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.
Texas, Jan–Mar 2025: 25,000 colonies lost, 62,300 added, 22,000 renovated
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.
Survey authors: beekeepers face 'systematic pressure to make up for high levels of losses'
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.
Replacing and renovating colonies cost U.S. beekeepers an estimated $161 million in 2024, 27% of their revenue
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.
Texas, Oct–Dec 2024: 17,000 colonies lost, 1,900 added, 390 renovated
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.
Texas, Jul–Sep 2024: 7,000 colonies lost, 1,200 added, 1,300 renovated
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.
Texas, Apr–Jun 2024: 38,000 colonies lost, 43,000 added, 74,000 renovated
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.
Texas, Jan–Mar 2024: 28,000 colonies lost, 67,000 added, 46,000 renovated
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.