The similarity and appropriate usage of three honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) datasets for longitudinal studies

Authors: HIGHLAND, STEVEN - Utah State University; James, Rosalind

Submitted to: Environmental Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/18/2015
Publication Date: 2/16/2016
Citation: Highland, S., James, R.R. 2016. The similarity and appropriate usage of three honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) datasets for longitudinal studies. Environmental Entomology. 45(2):277-282. https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvv227.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvv227

Interpretive Summary: Honey bee colonies have experienced major changes, especially declines, in the past few decades. Long datasets on honey bees would be very helpful for identifying the factors associated with these changes. While there are a few long datasets, some scientists have questioned their value for addressing this question. We compared the numbers and trends for three datasets - two from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the third from states that register honey bee colonies. We compared the patterns by state. The three datasets showed a mix of similarities and differences, with differences between datasets being greatest for those states that need a large number of temporary, migratory bee colonies. These comparisons provide a way to estimate the number of colonies in a state used for pollination or honey production.

Technical Abstract: Honey bee (Apis mellifera, Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies have experienced profound fluctuations, especially declines, in the past few decades. Long-term datasets on honey bees are needed to identify the most important environmental and cultural factors associated with these changes. While a few such datasets exist, scientists have been hesitant to use some of these due to perceived shortcomings in the data. We compared data and trends for three datasets. Two come from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS), Agricultural Statistics Board: one is the annual survey of honey producing colonies from the Annual Bee and Honey program (ABH), and the other is colony counts from the Census of Agriculture conducted every 5 years. The third dataset we developed from the number of colonies registered annually by some states. We compared the long-term patterns of change in colony numbers among the datasets on a state-by-state basis. The three datasets often showed similar hive numbers and trends varied by state, with differences between datasets being greatest for those states receiving a large number of migratory colonies. Dataset comparisons provide a method to estimate the number of colonies in a state used for pollination vs honey production. Some states also had separate data for local and migratory colonies, allowing one to determine whether the migratory colonies were typically used for pollination or honey production. The Census of Agriculture should provide the most accurate long-term data on colony numbers, but only every five years.