Thieves are targeting beehives with growing sophistication (opens in new tab)

From what I've seen the best practices are around ideas that seem like "the best defense is a good offense" -- or providing the bees the best possible chances and situation and letting them take care of themselves, which they do white well when fed a range of foods and not squeezed too tightly for profits and trucked across country.

Rev. Langstroth's work on this is dated ( 1850s and 1860s ) but still incredibly relevant. He's given a lot of credit for his work on moveable-frame hives, but 'd say he did a lot to advocate for the practice of bee keeping as a practice that could be engaged, as gardening, by anyone with interest.

According to a talk by Paul Stamets [1], common viruses transmitted from mites to bees may be managed better by adding mushroom derivatives to sugar water feed.

[1] Paul Stamets: Mycology and Mushrooms as Medicines https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q0un2GPsSQ

Is not a new technology. Microfilms and microfilm viewers exist since decades so the solution is available

Honeybees are domesticated animals, like dairy cows. When we need more, we breed more. There's no threat to domestic honeybees as a species or even as an industry. Unlike the native bees, which are being threatened by introduced diseases (both from non-native introduced species like honeybees, and through bulk imports of honey from other continents), encroachment of non-native species (did you know native bees in North America can't pollinate European or Asian flowers?), and possibly pesticides.

I lose hives every year (from winterkill to bear attacks and my own stupidity). A new nuc ("starter pack") is about $300. It would be cheaper and easier to steal from my neighbours, except I have morals.

[0] http://www.saskatraz.com/index.htm

My guess is that genetic engineering of the bees or their microbiome will end up being the solution.

Or we can just let them all become africanized...

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2019/07/breeders-toughen-bee...

https://www.genengnews.com/news/honey-bee-microbiome-bacteri...

https://beecare.bayer.com/media-center/news/detail/a-new-way...

https://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2019/05/30/program-to-help-mi...

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/victory-for...

From the linked article - 40% seems a tad higher, but if you don’t over winter the bees, have a tough year, w.e. You run a risk.

IMO one of the big issues is lack of biodiversity. Bees need pollen and if they collect pollen from almond fields only, they might not have enough stores because they only bloom for a specific time of year. Further, bees need ready access to water, which deserts / bees on the road dont provide.

Finally, yes pesticides are likely a problem, but again that’s because we are bringing bees to a farm which sprays the stuff.