I am a sideline beekeeper and  do not depend on the bees for a  livelihood.
 I typically only remove enough honey for my own needs and some  to sell.
Over the years I noticed that often the bees "integrate" honey  over several
seasons; i.e. they have a surplus over their needs one year and do  not
consume all the honey the coming winter.  This often allows them to  cover bad
honey years with a surplus from the good years.  However, if I  was a
commercial guy I could not do this....hence, I typically do not feed very  much.
For a hobbyist, I consider this to be an art of beekeeping.

I have also noticed that "store bought" bees, I try to use only feral's and
 have not bought any packages  in several  years, consume more honey /
stores, of course especially the Italians.  The feral's seem to conserve  their
honey better than the packages.

David MacFawn
Lexington, SC

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