Several of us on the Bee Informed Partnership team also work on the USDA/APHIS US Honey Bee and Pest Disease survey and have been part of this work since it started in 2009 with 3 states (HI, CA and FL). It grew to 13 states last year and we have welcomed 33 states this year. The results of our 2010/2011 Survey have just been released (2010/2011 US Honey Bee Pest and Disease Report). We are proud of the most comprehensive honey bee health survey to date and thank all the beekeepers in the 13 states who participated. Over 2,700 hives from the 13 states were sampled. Although the primary goal of the disease survey is to monitor US honey bee colonies for invasive pests, namely the Asian parasitic mites Tropilaelaps spp., Asian honey bees, A. cerana, and viruses not known to be in the US (Slow Paralysis Virus), we also realize that collecting current honey bee health data is also critical. These data include common viral data (DWV, IAPV, ABPV and KBV) and other pest data (Nosema spore counts, Varroa and tracheal mite loads) across the geographic range of the US, including Hawaii.
