I thought I would use this blog to help educate others and pass on things I have learned. I also hope to generate an interest in bees because they have started to decline over the past few years and we need more bee keepers! This is one of those questions that I frequently get or have gotten in the past. Honestly it is a difficult question to answer. For a typical hive it depends on a few factors such as diseases, if it is Fall, Spring or Summer. They are also impossible to count. I asked them to hold still once and they didn't listen. It goes back to that old adage that bees are not truly domesticated. If they like what we provide they will use it. If not they will find somewhere else to live.
When you purchase a package of bees you typically get 9,000 to 11,000 bees or so for a 3 lbs or 4 lbs package. It is a great way to start because you learn a great deal from starting from a package. A hive during the summer honey flow will have as many as 50,000 to 80,000 bees. Remember that a good laying queen will lay 2000 eggs a day and a hive grows quite quickly.
:)
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