> So, that's my math. YMMV. Have fun shooting it down.
No argument from me. Nice analysis.
Your figures fit with what I have seen and read. Obviously, from your
post and Pete's the observed and confirmed peak population number is not
a specific count, but a fairly wide range.
I recall that Larry says in one of his (excellent) books that 1,200 eggs
a day is a reasonable sustained number (averaged over days or weeks) to
expect from a good queen.
I spent some time investigating this question a while back when people
were claiming 12 or 14 frames of brood in a colony. 12 or 14 frames
_with_ brood is not unusual, but in practice 4-1/2 frames _entirely
full_ of brood is the limit for most queens under normal conditions. Of
course, we seldom see many frames that do not have a 1" border of cells
that do not contain brood. A frame with just a 1" border of non-brood,
but otherwise full is only about 2/3 full of brood! And, if the shape is
an oval inside that rectangle, the actual area is less.
--- begin off-topic comments ---
The type of standard frame and the size of cell will affect the number
of frames required to accommodate a queen, since some foundation/frame
combinations have as many as 50% more cells than others of the same
size. Obviously frames with more top, bottom and side bar area and
foundation larger cells have fewer cells.
I also have been using both Western Bee wood frames with Permadent and
Mann Lake PF100s in the same hives and am discovering that the PF100s
with their 5.0 mm cells seem to be reasonably well accepted. I have
been mixing them in the same hives and will have more conclusive
observations after they have all been in use for a few years, but so
far, most colonies seem to accept them. A few do not.
I discuss and illustrate these matters in detail at various places in
my diary at http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary and under "Selected
Topics" at the same site and will not burden this list further now.
--- back to the topic ---
100,000 or even 80,000 bees in a hive is at the extreme tail of the
probable range and, given the time of year (off peak) under discussion,
not even close to a "conservative" estimate. 80,000 is around double a
reasonable median estimate for peak population.
I would think that a conservative estimate would be in the region of
40,000 bees and few IMO would argue.
Thanks. Glad you took the time.
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