Colorado Abandons Bee Inspections, Shifts Focus to Voluntary Survey and Pollinator Support

As of now, Colorado no longer offers inspections or export certifications for apiarists shipping bees to states requiring such certificates, a change that reflects the state's shift in approach to bee health monitoring and pollinator support. This shift follows the elimination of registration fees for beekeepers in 1990, which significantly reduced the number of licensed beekeepers. The Colorado Bee and Bee Products Act, adopted in 1963, initially focused on statewide beehive inspections to prevent the spread of bee diseases.

Key Takeaways:

• The Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA) no longer offers inspections or export certifications for apiarists shipping bees to states requiring such certificates.
• The state's focus on bee health monitoring has shifted to the National Honey Bee Survey (NHBS), a voluntary survey that tests honey bee hives for various factors that can negatively affect honey bee health.
• The NHBS is a free service that provides participants with a report detailing their honey bees' pests, pathogens, and disease results, with comparisons to national averages.
• The survey monitors for invasive threats, documents honey bee pests, pathogens, and in-hive pesticides, and conducts a longitudinal study to identify how beekeeping events affect honey bee health and hive mortality.
• The CDA supports the use of integrated hive management to promote proper hive hygiene, mite and disease management, and regulates the proper use of pesticides.
• The state's approach to pollinator support includes providing habitat for pollinators, promoting the use of integrated hive management, and educating the public on the importance of pollinators and the threats they face.
• The Colorado Native Pollinating Insects Health Study is a resource that provides information on native pollinators and their health.

Statistics:

• Colorado has hundreds of species of native bees and several thousand hives of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) managed commercially and by hobby beekeepers.
• More than 90% of plant species require pollinators to reproduce.
• Honey bees are facing threats from increased disease and mite parasites, lack of genetic diversity, habitat loss due to urban landscapes and crop monoculture, and environmental toxins including pesticides.

Sources:

• Colorado Department of Agriculture (CDA)
• National Honey Bee Survey (NHBS)
• CSU Extension
• Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation
• USDA
• US Fish and Wildlife Service