Although California beekeepers have not seen the devastating hive mortality this winter that they did in 2025, they say they’re still losing colonies. “Things are looking OK, but we won’t really know until the end of bloom,” said Ryan Burris, California State Beekeepers Association president and a Palo Cedro beekeeper and queen breeder. “It sounds like the numbers are better, but some people still lost a lot of bees.”