Over the past decade, the number of Virginia beekeepers has fallen roughly by half, to between 2,000 and 3,000. The main culprits are two parasitic mites that feast on bees and have killed large numbers of them since the 1980s.

Beekeepers acknowledge concern about their declining numbers. They attribute the trend partly to the ravages of time — most beekeepers are older, and many have died.

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