The opposite end of the equation is zero survivability bees. This approach was done for decades in the north. Bees were run for one season only, all honey harvested, bees killed. Buildup and honey production was everything, survivability was nothing. 

For beekeepers that want bees that survive, irrespective of how many hives they intend to run, health is of paramount importance. No matter how productive the bees are, if they crap out some of your net income is going to have to be shoveled back into replacement bees. Even if you divide your own hives, there is labor and expense involved.

One of the key things that was looked at was "are bees heavily inbred" and does this cause a reduction in vigor. Turns out that there seems to be sufficient genetic diversity, but if it weren't the case, it would be one thing that could be remedied fairly easily. Again, in the long run, it will benefit to pay attention to genetic diversity, so we don't get into a bottleneck.


PLB

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