Although I am not remotely close to a bee expert, I found this story from the Sept. 29, 1907 NYT of passing interest:

Prominent beekeepers of the State, who spoke at a gathering under State auspices at the Agricultural Station here to-day, gave it as their opinion that the late spring and blight of apple blossoms were responsible for the poor output of honey, the harvest being one-third the normal amount.

Producers are selling honey at 25 cents, an advance of 3 cents a pound in the comb, and 3 cents more for the extracted article. The spread of "foul brood," a pest which decimates bee colonies, was reported to be so great that the industry was threatened with extinction.