Editing Apiary (section)

== Disease and decline ==
Apiaries may decline due to a scarcity of resources which can lead to robbing of nearby hives. This is especially an issue in urban areas where there may be a limited amount of resources for bees and a large number of hives may be affected.<ref name=":02"/>

Apiaries may suffer from a wide variety of diseases and infestations.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=von Büren|first=R.S. |display-authors=et al.|date=2019|title=High-resolution maps of Swiss apiaries and their applicability to study spatial distribution of brood diseases|journal=PeerJ|volume=7|page=e6393|doi=10.7717/peerj.6393|pmc=6360077|pmid=30723636 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Throughout history apiaries and bees have been kept for honey and pollination purposes all across the globe. Due to the definition of apiary as a location where hives are kept its history can be traced as far back as that of beekeeping itself. In recent years [[Colony collapse disorder|Colony Collapse Disorder]] due to pesticide resistant mites have ravaged bee populations.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.motherearthnews.com/homesteading-and-livestock/natural-beekeeping-zmaz08fmzmcc|title=Natural Beekeeping in Your Backyard – Homesteading and Livestock |work=Mother Earth News|access-date=2017-10-30|language=en}}</ref> Beyond mites there are a wide variety of diseases which may affect the hives and lead to the decline or collapse of a colony. For this reason many beekeepers choose to keep apiaries of limited size to avoid mass infection or infestation. For more information on diseases which affect bee populations see the [[list of diseases of the honey bee]].