One of the topics that receives the most attention is Overwintering of bee colonies. A new article by Mehmet Ali Doke, Maryann Frazier, & Christina M. Grozinger ends with these statements:


1. Only strong colonies with large populations of workers and abundant food stores should be overwintered. Weak colonies, showing no symptoms of disease, should be combined early in the season. 

2. Only colonies with young, high-quality queens should be overwintered. Poor-laying or old queens should be replaced with young queens, ideally reared from Varroa resistant or survivor stock, prior to winter.

This may seem obvious but I think these two suggestions are frequently ignored by small and large beekeepers alike. When the goal is to have high numbers early in spring, the beekeeper may not want to cull marginal hives, preferring to gamble. Culling in the fall greatly reduces winter loss as a percentage. Statistically, culling colonies falls through the cracks, since these are colonies that are not "lost" but deliberately absorbed. 

The second one is significant. A colonies with young queens produce and survive better than those with older ones, all other things being equal. Yet, routine queen replacement is not always standard practice. Again, there is a tendency to gamble. Do I want to spend the money now, or later? I am not making light of these issues, but these factors are seldom reflected in the surveys. 

Mehmet Ali Doke, Maryann Frazier, Christina M. Grozinger Overwintering Honey Bees: Biology and Management (2015),
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2015.05.014
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