A lot of people who should know better go on and on about how winter losses in the past were so much less. I don't think so. 

1934 Gleanings in Bee Culture

VERMONT. –– The first week in May brought with it the first warm weather of the year, permitting an examination of the bees. Needless to say, the loss of bees this past severe winter has been large, in many cases as high as 80 per cent. In almost no case was the loss due to shortage of honey; but, due to the long, steady, severe cold, bees starved with honey just an inch or two away from the cluster. –– Charles Mraz, Middlebury, Vermont

ONTARIO. –– This is May 9, and the season is far enough advanced so that a fairly accurate estimate can be made of winter losses of bees in Ontario. Yesterday I noticed in a Toronto daily that Prof. Dyce of Guelph, our Provincial Apiarist, estimates the loss in colonies around 50 per cent, with a big percentage of those left so weakened that they can not build up for the white honey flow. Prof. Dyce should know, as he has better facilities than anyone else to feel the pulse of beekeeping in the Province.

The erratic way in which the various apiaries have wintered is a puzzler to me. We have come to the conclusion that quality of stores was the deciding issue this past disastrous winter. –– J. L. Byer, Markham, Ontario

PLB

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html