Darren Cox's family has tended bees and harvested honey for four generations. To put the last winter into perspective, Cox said he has lost about 50 percent of his bees to the Varroa mite over the past 10 years. "Last winter, we've lost another 50 percent," Cox said.

He knows of another out-of-state beekeeper who used to tend more than 6,000 hives. "They ended up with only 250 hives," he said.

"It's been a tough ride for the U.S. beekeeper," Cox said. In addition to the Varroa mite and other bee-born diseases, the U.S. honey industry has been inundated with a flood of cheaper foreign honey into the country, mostly from Asia.

Cox said beekeepers have tried to rebuild their hives by splitting existing hives to start new ones. However, this leaves hives that produce less honey.

Cox said his company, Cox Honey, faces a financial strain. "I'm planning on a 30 percent loss between now and January," he said. "I'm not going to be able to break even with the price of fuel this year."

Cox said state agriculture officials have helped by their willingness to approve any new treatments for Varroa mite, but he has seen no emergency assistance for beekeepers.

More and more, Cox said, beekeepers find the pollination business more lucrative than farming honey, renting out their hives to fruit and nut farmers.

With the growing shortage of hives, Cox said hives that used to lease for $50 to $60 per season, per hive, went for $125 to $150 per hive last year. With the 50 percent loss, Cox said beekeepers estimate that the price will break $200 per hive next year.

It's a trend that could prove devastating to Utah fruit growers as farmers in California and other states vie to have Utah hives transported to their orchards, leaving Utah farmers in the lurch.

"I've had calls from Arizona, Washington and even Wisconsin, from farmers looking for hives," Cox said.

This worries farmers like sweet-cherry grower Sheldon Ercanbrack of Orem. Like almonds, cherries pollinate best with honeybees.

"Honeybees are very crucial for cherries," said Ercanbrack, also a board member of the Utah Horticulture Society. He has noticed honeybees seem weaker as of late.

"It's almost as if they're burned out. Over the years, the bees don't seem to work as hard," he said.

Ercanbrack said his orchard relies on having about 30 hives for pollination. News of the winter fatalities worries him as a farmer and as a Utahn.

"I guess we could say that it is a concern for us all. It's kind of like if we lost the seagull, our state bird. We all kind of take the bees for granted, that they'll be around. I don't think a lot of people understand that bees are an important factor in growing fruit, and if we didn't have them, that would be quite damaging," Ercanbrack said.