Iowa Honey Bee Colonies

Honey bee colonies for operations with 5 or more colonies in Iowa as of January 1, 2024, totaled 56,000 colonies. This was up 12 percent from the 50,000 colonies on January 1 last year but down 20 percent from the 70,000 colonies on October 1, 2023. The maximum number of colonies during the January-March 2024 quarter was 59,000.

Honey bee colonies lost for operations with 5 or more colonies for the January-March 2024 quarter was 1,900, or 3 percent. This percent was unchanged from the same period last year but up 1 percent from losses reported during the October-December 2023 quarter.

Varroa mites was the number one stressor for operations with 5 or more colonies in all of 2023.