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At least in this area. It follows that smaller clusters of colonies would
lead to healthier bees.

source http://goupstate.com/article/20080428/NEWS/804280311/1029

No shortage of bees in Spartanburg
But local beekeepers report a good spring
By Lee Gray
Published: Monday, April 28, 2008 | Updated: 7:06 am

Despite national reports that the bee population is declining, Spartanburg
is buzzing with bee activity.

Swarms have been reported at several downtown Spartanburg locations the past
few weeks, and local beekeepers say they are struggling to keep up with
demands for bee capture. Spartanburg beekeepers Raymond Crocker and Janie
Lane both said they've received more calls than usual this year, and their
apiaries are at capacity for the season.

"It does seem like I'm getting more calls this year than last year," said
Lane, a beekeeper for five years. "You notice all the pollen. It's a really
good spring."

About two weeks ago Crocker contained between 8,000 and 10,000 honeybees
that had made a temporary home on the side of Smith's Drug Store No. 1 on
Dunbar Street. Since then, Crocker, who has been in the bee business for 57
years, said he's responded to 19 bee calls, including at two other downtown
buildings. He's been referring calls to other beekeepers he knows and
instead is focusing on keeping his hives well-fed on apple blossoms that
will make for a sweet honey come summer.

"This is the swarm season," said Mike Hood, Clemson Extension bee
specialist. "The months of April and May are when honeybees normally swarm
in our region of the world. If you throw in the fact that we've had a fairly
mild spring and colonies have been able to build up, colonies have a
tendency to swarm."

These reports don't seem to corroborate national findings that the bee
population is on the decline. Losses of up to 90 percent of commercial bee
colonies have been attributed to "colony collapse disorder," or CDC. The
causes are usually problems with parasitic mites, disease or pesticides on
flowering plants.

Hood said South Carolina keepers are reporting an after-winter loss of about
20 percent, compared with the national average of about 35 percent. But this
spring, it appears the colonies are buzzing at full force.

"If bees are swarming it must mean there are fairly strong colonies and
apparently healthy in this area," Hood said, adding that colonies only tend
to swarm when bees run out of room in the hive.

Hood said the bee abundance can be attributed to the mild spring that has
yielded a multitude of flowers for bees to thrive on as well as increased
public awareness about the need for bees.

"People have been a lot more observant and have been more prone to protect
the colonies and call a beekeeper to salvage them," Hood said. "We need to
continue to save what honeybee colonies we find."

In South Carolina and across the nation, commercial crops including apples,
cantaloupes, cucumbers, squash and watermelons are all reliant on bee
pollination. Information released by Clemson Extension last year estimates
honeybee pollination to be worth $14.6 billion annually in the United
States.

There are an estimated 2,000 beekeepers in South Carolina, many willing to
travel to homes and businesses to collect swarms that linger a little too
long. Spartanburg County Communications keeps a list of about seven local
beekeepers the public may contact for swarm removal. The non-emergency phone
number is 596-2222.