Honeybees Recovering in New Jersey?

Reports have been warning about the problems with bee colonies being decimated by what scientists were calling colony collapse disorder. They believe that some unknown pathogen was causing bee colonies to die off in mass numbers, and some wondered whether if enough bees died off that it would imperil a multitude of crops.

It appears now that the worries may have been overcome. At least in New Jersey, bee populations are on the rebound due to some favorable climate conditions and a gentle assist from beekeepers.

Swarms form when a colony gets too big, and a colony gets too big when it has healthy bees. Typically, the old queen will leave with half the worker bees that load up with honey and follow her to a new location. General merriment follows, something that's been in short supply in the bee world for decades, said Schuler.

The honeybee population dipped after the 1940s when people moved from rural settings to urban ones and abandoned beekeeping, said Schuler. In the 1980s, a parasitic mite entered the United States and devastated wild colonies. In the last two years a mysterious ailment called Colony Collapse Disorder killed millions of bees and destroyed their colonies.

This year, however, Mother Nature seemed to create conditions that favor bees -- a mild winter and, what Schuler believes, may be a growing immunity to the parasitic mites. While swarming isn't related to Colony Collapse Disorder, the new colonies that form will help replace those that were lost.

As a result, beekeepers have been busy answering calls about honeybee populations that settle down, sometimes in the least desirable of places.

"I have been so busy I can't keep up with calls," said Robert Simonofsky, a beekeeper from Annandale and a member of the New Jersey Beekeepers Association, who has removed swarms in Hunterdon, Warren, Somerset, Mercer and Monmouth counties this year.

One thing to keep in mind is if you do happen to come across a bee infestation on your property, get in touch with a beekeeper, and not a pest exterminator. The beekeeper will not only help remove the bees, but help establish new colonies of these beneficial insects.