The annual winter survival survey was (finally) "published" here:
https://www.bbka.org.uk/news/84-of-beekeepers-who-replied-to-survey-had-no-winter-losses
Unfortunately the results are gibberish if you read them literally, saying "84% of beekeepers reported no losses". Previously, the annual results have been stated as the percentage of colonies lost over winter.
I've queried this with the BBKA twice and got no answer. It's as if they don't understand that
(a) They've changed the way the results are presented, which makes year-on-year comparisons semi useless;
(b) They don't understand the difference between the number of beekeepers and number of colonies
Most likely, it's just poor wording, but it makes me wary of trusting this result. Can anyone involved in the survey definitively clarify what the total percentage of colonies lost across the UK was last winter?
Thanks
https://www.bbka.org.uk/news/84-of-beekeepers-who-replied-to-survey-had-no-winter-losses
Unfortunately the results are gibberish if you read them literally, saying "84% of beekeepers reported no losses". Previously, the annual results have been stated as the percentage of colonies lost over winter.
I've queried this with the BBKA twice and got no answer. It's as if they don't understand that
(a) They've changed the way the results are presented, which makes year-on-year comparisons semi useless;
(b) They don't understand the difference between the number of beekeepers and number of colonies
Most likely, it's just poor wording, but it makes me wary of trusting this result. Can anyone involved in the survey definitively clarify what the total percentage of colonies lost across the UK was last winter?
Thanks