> > We had 11.5% winter loss last winter, while others lost up to 90%.

> You did not report such a good success in he past... in your diary or
>elsewhere...as far as I recall. What have you done diffently? Do you mind
sharing some?

Well, loss has varied over the years.  I think the best we had was about 9%
loss.  Then we went pollinating, and that is very hard on bees, and the
queens.  Even then, though, we still stayed under 20%, as I recall.  Maybe
tose who have been mining my diary can remind me.

Also, our estimates vary over time, until I reach a final number.  Last
year, quite a few colonies fooled me.  We wrote them off as weak and
included them in losses early on, but they recovered by the time we finished
our spring work.

Carniolan type colonies mixed in with Italian type can be interesting to
manage.  In the end they all do about the same for us, but they sure can
look different at some times of year and the feed needs vary.

allen

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