My copy of the Hive and the Honey Bee (1992 page 829) lists winter losses
before mites as about 15% for the US as a whole but for us lucky ones in
the far north would easily be 30%.

The fly in this particular ointment, which I have stated repeatedly is: prior to the era when beekeepers made a substantial portion of their income from spring pollination contracts, they culled extensively in the fall, in order to reduce the winter losses. 

They ended up with a lot of empty boxes in the spring, and set about to refilling them by queen rearing and dividing. It is easy to recoup 50% or higher losses, if you are aiming for the summer honey flow, and building up on the spring one. 

Now, with the incentive to pollinate almonds, anything with three combs and a lid is considered a potential pollinator, given a few months of babysitting in some southern state. 

I have talked to beekeepers who lost 90% of their hives in summer (varroa), dragged the remainders to Florida and put the syrup to them. Ten from one splits are common practice. This is not rocket science, but one wonders if it's really beekeeping.

PLB

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