Mike said:

> I pollinated apples for 20 years... the difference between colonies
> I moved and colonies I didn't move to be way more than minor compromises.

> Every colony moved lost a super of honey...at today's prices that
> is about $45.

Our productive blooms are a tad later, I guess.  Perhaps the earlier
spring here in VA results in less overlap between "good" nectar
sources and apple bloom.  You are near WayTheHeckNorth, VT right?

> The strong colonies lost enough strength to make a nuc...that's $60.

Well, hold on there... aren't you counting the impact twice here?
I can understand that they had to be fed (more), and missed out on
some of the early spring flow, but if the colonies lost strength,
doesn't that mean that they were not provisioned well enough, and
also were not fed?

> The pollinators always had to be fed more for winter.

Same question as above.  You now appear to be counting the same
impact 3 times.

> And then there's wintering. I always lost 10 to 15% more colonies of
> those that pollinated than those that didn't.

... counting the impact 4 times?  Of course, if you had to do all of the
above to most colonies, and still had losses, I guess it is a valid way
of looking at it.

> So, for a $35 pollination fee, I could lose more than $100 in income.
> Hardly a minor compromise, wouldn't you say?

I'm not sure I agree with your bookkeeping methodology, but maybe you
have a season that is 99% "spring flow" with very little summer flow.
Yes, hive top feeders are almost a required item if the apple bloom is
"extended" by cool temps or rain, but aside from the problem of "extra
feeding", I have not noticed the other negative impacts, certainly not
the over-wintering losses.

But yeah, bees can starve on apples.  From what they get out of the deal,
it is a wonder that they forage apple trees at all.  I do know that if
the grower does not mow his understory before hive deployment, the bees
will ignore the apple trees and go for nearly anything ELSE they can find.

                jim (So, like, where are we going?
                 ...And what's with the handbasket?)

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