What characterizes commercial beekeeping operations?

Commercial beekeeping operations are characterized by a significant number of hives, typically 200 or more. This scale allows beekeepers to produce honey and other bee-related products in large quantities, which can then be sold commercially. The large number of hives also enables operations to provide pollination services to agriculture, becoming an integral part of many farming systems.

In contrast, having less than 10 hives is more representative of hobby or backyard beekeeping, where the focus is often on personal enjoyment rather than commercial production. Keeping bees primarily for recreation further emphasizes this hobbyist approach, while the use of traditional beekeeping methods may pertain to smaller-scale, artisanal practices rather than the more systematic and industrial methods employed in commercial operations.