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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

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Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
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Sat, 28 Apr 2012 11:55:30 -0400
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>Are you still actively looking at honey bee deaths.  We are having a major problem in South West Ontario this year.

In Alberta, I am hearing of losses under 10%, although there are reports of exceptional losses as high as 75%.

My losses were 15%, including 2 hives pulled in fall, or 8% over winter.  (A grade-school student should be able to figure out my current hive count pretty closely from that).

I am going out today for a look, and am thinking that I can split 4 for 1 this week, since I don't want to make any honey.  That all depends on whether I want o use $26 queens or wait a little while and make some cells.  (Yes that is what we have to pay up here due to being "protected" by our bureaucracy, although I was offered a bargain at $18 recently).

There is a glut of bees out here right now, since many beekeepers decided to raise nucs for replacement or for sale last year.  

Six-frame overwintered hives are selling at $200 in Alberta and you get to pick.  I imagine each would be the equivalent of two 2-lb packages or better.  Given the glut, some flexibility in price might be possible. 

After the 30-45% losses on the prairie last year, people overcompensated.  Decisions have to be made a year in advance and there is no way to predict the survival rate over the next eight months.   

That is the problem, as so well explained by Stan's post the other day.  (I think the writer intended to prove something the opposite of what she so nicely illustrated).

In a good year everything goes too well, and there is a struggle to manage the excess bees.  Each operation is scaled to manage and extract only so many hives and must stay in the sweet spot.  Too many bees mean swarming, granulated supers, overworked staff, poor efficiency, stress, divorce, unrealistic future expectations...

In a bad year, everyone is struggling to replace losses. Hives are over-split and the result is poor split success, poor bee health, crop loss, financial stress, staff layoffs, poor efficiency, stress, divorce, unrealistic future expectations...

Feast and famine.

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