The project
The economics of a hive
A hive is an equilibrium. Every day, bees make trade-offs: collect pollen — which feeds future larvae — or produce honey — which feeds today's bees. Everything is oriented toward a single horizon: surviving the winter. And what looks like instinct from the outside conceals an optimisation that can be written in equations.
From that equilibrium we derive what we call the economics of a hive: every resource (a lavender field, a water source, a chestnut forest) has a value; every decision a beekeeper makes — harvest, feed, divide — has a cost. That cost is what we calculate, hive by hive, to tell you the moment when your interests and your colony's converge.
When to harvest
Harvest when honey costs the hive the least — when your interest and the colony's converge.
When to split
Split when each new colony, on its own, has better odds of surviving winter than the original hive.
When to feed
Feed when every gram of sugar does the most for your bees — without ever making it a routine.