Well, the weather has broken a bit and the days are lengthening
quickly. Three months from now we will be splitting and in five
months we will be preparing to extract.
 
We have been worried about our wintering bees due to the early onset
of cold, the prolonged low temperatures, and the winds.  Added to
these worries were the fact that 1,000 colonies of bees -- almost
half our outfit -- were packages from New Zealand and Australia
which have had a reputation for suboptimal (miserable)wintering
success in Western Canada.
 
Well, we went out over the last few days in temperatures ranging
from zero to minus 8 C. and true to form, the first yard had 17 dead
of 44.
 
Hmmmmm.
 
Well from there, things got better. I'm told I have a knack for
spotting the exception, and maybe it's true, Subsequent yards showed
far less loss, the average, after sampling five more yards, being
about twenty percent -- even with this large negative sample
included.  Some yards had no loss.
 
Amazingly, the yellow Italians from the Southern Hemisphere seem to
be among the best survivors!  Among them are some really beautiful
colonies. I did not examine most hives too closely, however the
few I did adjust for feed showed no brood, only eggs.  This is
unusual, since there is usually some brood by now.  (I did see one
patch of sealed brood the size of a silver dollar).
 
There are still two months before we unwrap, and before they really
get going.  We're hoping that the losses will stay under 25%, and at
this point it appears possible, if only we do not get a minus forty
spell at the end of Feb when the bees are getting old, and brood has
started, making them particularly vulnerable.
 
--------------  Points to Ponder Department -------------
 
An interesting thing about mathematics is that the truth is not
always obvious and intuitive.  This is particularly true of the
relationship between the size of a loss and the cost of recovering
from it:
 
-- If you lose 10%, you must split 11% of your colonies to recover
-- If you lose 20%, you must split 25% of your colonies to recover
-- If you lose 25%, the number is 33%.
-- But if you lose 33%, *half* (50%)must be split,
                       and
-- When you have 50% loss, *every * (100%) hive must yield a split
 
...just to get you back to where you started!
 
FWIW.
 
Regards
 
Allen
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                                         VE6CFK
RR#1, Swalwell, Alberta  Canada T0M 1Y0
Internet:[log in to unmask] & [log in to unmask]
Honey. Bees, & Art <http://www.internode.net/~allend/>