"Well," the first guy says, "I’ve got maybe two hundred and fifty thousand, in eleven hives. I brought some in after January to make up for the losses, you know, and obviously that was pretty nervous because I didn’t want to import any diseases. I’ve petitioned the local council to move the cellphone mast, although I don’t really think that makes a difference, and I’ve shifted to a new brand of smoke in case the one I was using was too harsh. I’ve sprayed a bit with some fungicide, checked for varroa mites, all that. What about you? How many have you got now?"