What a colony actually yields, and how to reset expectations

Yield is where numbers get inflated most, because the seller wants an attractive figure and the buyer wants to believe it. The result is a disappointing first year for nearly everyone. These are realistic ranges.

A new colony in its first year

Usually nothing, or one small harvest late in the year if the site is genuinely good. The first year is when the colony builds structure and numbers. Taking honey then is borrowing from the following season.

An established colony from year two

A strong colony on a good site yields a few hundred millilitres per harvest, one or two harvests a year. A very strong colony in a garden rich in forage can do better, but that is the upper end, not the average.

Why the figure swings so widely

Three factors, in order of influence: forage around the stand, shade and ant defence, and only then the keeper's technique. Two identical colonies a few hundred metres apart can differ several times over in yield.

How to estimate for your own site

Keep two colonies through one full year and record every harvest. Your own numbers are more reliable than any figure you hear, because they already account for local forage and conditions. Then scale by how many colonies the garden can actually support.

The second value: splits

With stingless bees, colonies are usually worth more than honey. A strong colony splits once or twice a year, and each daughter is worth many harvests of honey. Anyone assessing this as a business on honey alone is missing most of it.

Frequently asked

How long to recover the initial cost?

Counting the value of splits, faster than counting honey alone. But it is a slow, steady trade rather than a quick one.

Does yield rise with colony age?

Up to a point, then it plateaus because the box has a fixed volume. Past that, the way to increase output is to split, not to wait.

Why does my colony yield less than a neighbour's?

Almost always siting: shade, wind and density of flowering plants within three hundred metres. Check those three before looking at technique.