On Mar 16, 2018, at 8:55 AM, Peter Loring Borst <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>> Me: My question relating to the above is why take all these surveys on survival rates when I believe most hobbyists aren’t involved with surveys?
> 
> Peter:  This is simply not the case. The Bee Informed Partnership has definitely reached out to all categories and compiled a very broad range of statistics. I have been disappointed in some things with BIP, but data collection is definitely not one of them. And I have come to realize that the analysis of this mountain of data is much more difficult than anyone imagines.....If you are going to criticize Bee Informed, you had better bee informed

> 

Seems to me Peter you are putting words in my mouth regarding BIP.  I never said or criticized BIP regarding “how difficult it is to collect the mountain of data”.  And just how do you know that’s not the case?  All the work they do is tremendous. There are many more hobbyist beekeepers around than you think there are, which I am sure you and BIP know, but of course there is no survey to really determine how many hobbyists are really out there, therefore the survey numbers *might* be in the ballpark but not so close.  Somebody had quoted on a recent post how many States have a requisite in their Beekeeping Laws that they have to register their hives, maybe around half or slightly more of the continental States?  Is that where they get the data from?  I know quite a few beekeepers, not as many as you do, that are not involved with any type of survey whatsoever.  Your quoted numbers ( from BIP I assume?) from your email sound low to this hobbyist. All the collected data is posted but just how correct is it? It’s like science pushing a theory as fact; just missing a few important pieces.

Deb Corcoran
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