The total honey bee population in the United States has declined 61 percent from 1947 to 2008, according to an Apidologie journal article titled “Survey of honey bee colony loss in the USA 2013-2014” that was co-published by Keith Delaplane, a professor, Walter B. Hill Fellow and Honey Bee Program director at the University of Georgia. Hendrix said there is a glimmer of hope every couple of years, but that the averages even out.Colony numbers have increased, according to the journal article, from 2.39 million in 2006 to 2.64 million in 2013.