Welcome to the San Mateo County Hive Survey!
The survey focuses on how well our colonies survived last year, where each hive’s bees came from, where the hive was located, and how it was treated. Our goal is to learn what sources of bees, environmental conditions, and/or management techniques influence colonies to succeed or fail.
About the Survey
- The survey is open to any San Mateo County beekeeper (whether a Guild member or not) and also members of our Guild outside the county. You are welcome to share this link with San Mateo County beekeepers - especially beekeepers who are not Guild members.
- Please include all your hives in the survey, whether they are in San Mateo County or not.
- If multiple people cared for the hives, please fill out the survey only once (not once for each beekeeper).
- Use this longer version of the survey if you have 10-30 colonies. Use the shorter version if you have 10 or less hives. Contact Nickie Irvine at nickieirvine at gmail.com to report on >30 hives. You should be able to complete the 10-hive survey in 10-15 minutes; for larger apiaries it will take a bit longer.
- You can stop and re-start the survey without losing data if your browser has cookies enabled.
- Please maximize your window to be sure you can see all the questions.
- SurveyMonkey does not use a responsive web page layout, so it may be tedious to take this survey using smart phones or other small-screen devices!
Before Taking the Survey
The survey follows the format of the national Bee Informed Partnership survey, collecting hive information for three dates:
- April 1, 2017
- October 1, 2017
- April 1, 2018.
This allows us to calculate annual and summer survival as well as overwintering success in a way that is compatible with national data.
Survey Results and Privacy
- Anonymous, compiled survey results will be posted on the Guild’s website each year so that we can learn what factors impact survival over time.
- No personal information will be included in the data analysis or final report, and SurveyMonkey will not retain or use any of our data, including your contact information.
Prizes!
The survey offers the option to enter a raffle for two prizes:
- $75 gift certificate open to all who fully complete the survey
- $25 gift certificate open to all who fill out the survey, even if their answers are incomplete.
Thank you for participating!
