According to these figures, incidence of disease decreases as apiary size increases:
NY Apiary Statistics (AFB) 2002
Apiary Size Apiaries Colonies AFB Colonies Disease Rate
01-10 405 1565 89 5.67%
11-20 90 1361 44 3.23%
21-30 73 2018 86 4.26%
31-40 68 2766 34 1.23%
41-50 8 379 00 0.00%
50+ 41 3593 06 0.17%
Statewide
Apiary Disease Rate 14.75%
Colony Disease Rate 4.50%
Of course, this is more likely tied to beekeeper skill level than some other factor.
***********************************************
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
Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm