What data supports that implied statement?  And how was that data normalized for beekeeper experience and apiary setting?

I think I am with you Mike,  I am not sure there is any validity or correlation to that thought.  Commercial beekeepers keep score quite differently with  at least one split of everything once a year ( some many more than that)  and yet a fairly stable population.  Constant re queening (is that now a new hive?)

If the population is stable (which it is for the most part)  and a split at least once every year,  you have to almost count that as 50% loss don’t you??

Most of the ones I know work numbers,  we go way up in spring and summer,  and drop back thru attrition into the fall and winter.


Bottom Line  the scoring system has to be quite different, and I don’t know anyone trying to handle it.   The ones trying to count like the BIP  are interested in fantastic numbers and not a real score.

Hard to compare the two fairly.  Right now I am down to about 350,  by May one I should be back over 1000,  where I was last summer,  so is that 66% loss???  Hard to say as I also sell off packages and nucs from that,  so how does one really count??

Charles

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