"Is there any correlation between numbers of hives kept in a small area and the
relative difficulty in getting them through lean times?"

We've discussed this in depth on this list sometime in the past, and it is not
a simple question.  The answer is, "Yes", but the correlation is more
statistical than arithmetical in nature.  The optimal number from the bees's
point of view, is one hive per location.  Larger numbers increase competition,
and the chances of saturating the area with foragers more days of the year, but
make the beekeeper's job easier.

Some years, a location can carry 100 or more hives and another it may have
trouble supporting one hive.  For a few days each year, any given location may
have more forage than a thousand hives can exploit, but on other days,
competition can be serious.  Another consideration  is that, even when nectar
is plentiful, as the number of bees on a location increases, there is also an
increased likelihood that bees will visit flowers that have already given up
their nectar and thus waste time.

We had a serious drought in Alberta in the eighties, and reduced yards to as
few as 8 hives, and noticed that the survival was benefitted by smaller
numbers.  What we must rememeber is that some hives are more competitive than
others, and that, as the numbers of hives increase on a location, the pressure
on the weakest ones increases.  Individual hives that might do well if located
alone, or with only a few neighbours, will often fail in large yards.

allen

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