After watching 62% of commercial beekeepers lose their colonies this winter despite rigorous management, we figured it was time someone addressed the elephant in the apiary.

Spoiler alert: the problem probably isn't your management. It's your hive.

We're three engineers who got tired of watching bees work harder than they should just to survive in poorly designed boxes. Each issue, we'll bring you the kind of systematic thinking that actually solves problems, not just treats symptoms.

Fair warning: we're going to challenge some sacred cows. 

But if you're here, you're probably ready for that.

— Tomer, Yotam, Alex, Gianmario & the Primal Bee Team

Something unprecedented happened this winter, and it should terrify every beekeeper.

Commercial operations—with their resources, experience, and skilled management—lost 62% of their colonies. 

Hobbyists lost 51%. 

Sideliners lost 54%.

These numbers flip conventional wisdom upside down. Historically, the pros lose fewer bees than hobbyists because, well, they're pros.

But here's the kicker: according to industry analysis, these catastrophic losses don't correlate with standard management factors: 

None of it showed clear patterns.

Translation: good beekeepers following proven protocols still lost most of their bees.

Our co-founder Gianmario lived this nightmare for three straight years. 

"In the first three years, we never got a drop of honey, and we never survived the winter," he recalls. 

As a mechanical engineer who'd spent decades solving "impossible" problems, he knew something was fundamentally broken. The breakthrough came when he stopped asking "what's killing my bees?" and started asking "what's exhausting them?"

Turns out, bees in standard hives spend 30-80% of their energy just maintaining brood temperature. It's like asking someone to run a marathon while performing surgery — the energy spent on one task isn't available for the other.

After implementing his first thermodynamically optimized prototype, colonies filled "two standard hive nests and two supers in just 15 days." Results so dramatic that local beekeepers thought he was lying.

The lesson? When everything you're doing right still goes wrong, examine the foundation.

For our next issue, we're looking for hobbyist beekeepers who've experienced unusual colony performance—either exceptional success or unexpected challenges—during the 2024-2025 season.

Selected stories will be featured in upcoming issues with full credit to contributors.

Reply with your answer—we'll share the most common responses in our next issue and address them with practical solutions.

🎯 Thermal Monitoring Made Simple

Many readers have asked about the temperature monitoring equipment mentioned in our diagnostic guide. Here are our top recommendations:

Check with your local extension office—many have equipment loan programs for beekeepers interested in advanced monitoring.

Implement these energy stress diagnostics (step-by-step instructions in our playbook):

Advanced beekeepers: Start calculating your Energy Efficiency Index using the formula in our diagnostic guide.

Questions about implementation? Schedule a consultation with our engineering team—we've helped beekeepers across diverse climates optimize their operations.

Book a consultation →

The beekeeping industry is at a crossroads. The 2025 losses prove we need fundamental innovation, not just better management of outdated systems.

Our next issue will feature a deep dive into thermodynamic principles applied to hive design, plus a recap from our Florida research trip with the University of Florida Bee Lab.

And we believe the best solutions come from understanding the physics of what bees actually need to thrive.

Til next week,

The Primal Bee Team