In the 1970's, Virginia had nearly 90,000 beehives. Now, that number has dwindled to less than 30,000, according to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
Last winter was an especially bad year for bee losses, according to the state apiarist.
Since 2000, Virginia has been losing about 30% of its bees every winter. Last winter, Virginia lost about 35-37% of its bees. Those losses continue to have an impact on crops and vegetation.
Jerry Borger has been keeping bees for about five years now.
"Ok were going to lift the frame out here," Borger said as he lifted the lid off one of his eight beehive colonies.
He got started beekeeping as a way to pollinate his small apple orchard.
"It wasn't until a year, year and a half later, that I realized honey bees aren't the primary pollinators, they are pollinators but not the primary pollinators for apple trees, and by then I was hooked," laughed Borger.
Like Borger, 90% of all of Virginia's beekeepers are small, with just two to 10 hives.
"It's just a ball," said Borger of his hobby.
But it's that growing interest in beekeeping that state officials hope will help start a turn-around in the dwindling bee numbers.
"What we're seeing in Virginia and in other states is there is a tremendous interest in beekeeping. As a result we're hoping we'll see an increase in the number of beehives and pollinators that we need," said state apiarist Keith Tignor with the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.
The bees are fighting a devistating disease call colony collapse disorder. Mites, pesticides, starvation and severe weather are other major problems. It's all causing the bees to die in large numbers.
"Oh, they're fascinating creatures!" Borger said about the things he learns from his thousands of bees.
One of the most successful ways to re-grow bee numbers, is to do it locally, said Tignor. Instead of trying to import bees from other states, he suggests re-populating Virginia's numbers with bees that are already adapted to Virginia's climate.
"See the shiny stuff there? The liquid looking stuff? That is necter and this is honey," Borger explained.
And small beekeepers, or apiarists, like Borger are helping the state crawl out of a sticky situation.
