Amazing how a time line can change ones views.
Not only the number of bees dying off, but also those that claim numbers are inclusive of all the brood in a colony (but , of course, no response from that claimant -I wonder why? Could it be a connection of both ends?).
Semantics, dates and thinking are all part of beekeeping on a forum such as this. There might be a lot out there thinking 'what a plonker' reading your post; they might be thinking what a load of plonkers replying if they all agree with such an untruth.
I often think that when I read the replies from certain members who continually spout rubbish as though they are knowledgeable and should be taken notice of. Beginners are led up the garden path by inaccuracies. Makes beekeeping seem so difficult when really itvix a simple affair.
So have you decided to follow MM's advice? Actually learning how to spot the queen would have been a far better thread, IMO. Now when was your datum point for comparison of numbers? Was it at A/S, time of introduction, time of starting to lay? All those comparisons will give different numbers, so different cross-over points. They are not important; MM's advice was pertinent. Time after starting to lay, nothing else.
