On Wed, 14 Dec 1994, William G Lord wrote:
 
> One rather interesting result was that we were surprised at how
> long it took to freeze capped brood.  The combination of capping
> and dead air space above the brood served as a very effective
> insulator.  One result is I am not quite as concerned about
> chilling brood during spring inspections now, though I still try
> to be careful not to leave combs out too long.
 
It's interesting how opinions vary.  We used to be pretty cavalier about
leaving brood out of hives during inspection.  But we've gone the other
way in our thinking recently.  Our queen raising experience has shown us
how little disturbance it takes to stop a queen from laying, how easily
open brood can be chilled or damaged due to lack of worker attention
during a disturbance, and we are quite concerned about the fact that
sealed brood - although maybe not killed immediately - due to
temperature and humidity (+/-) stress, can become subject to sacbrood - and
who knows what?
 
Having had some problems with queen cells, and wanting to know what they
experience in a normal hive compared to what they experience under our
handling, we purchased a Radio Shack Hi/Lo digital thermometer for about
twenty- thirty dollars, calibrated it against a clinical thermometer (It
was amazingly accurate) and measured brood temperatures under various
weather conditions.
 
It was nothing short of astounding how closely they regulate temperature
in a functional colony.  Manmade incubators come nowhere close - at least
the ones I can afford.  Apparently small changes in temperature are not
too important, but my experience with queen cells has shown that chilling
them even a little at critical times reduces success - in some cases to
zero.
 
It is not a long leap to assume the same might apply to workers and
drones.  Queen cells held at a slightly lower than normal temperature
around the 10th day show remarkably reduced vigour on emerging.
*Apparently* they recover and perform, but I am suspicious.
 
<following is a quote from a previous discussion with J P Chapleau on
BEE-L in October 1994. . . >
 
AD>Perhaps we could discuss incubation temperatures at some later time.  My
AD>measurements don't agree with the published numbers.  The books refer to
AD>92F.  I measure 95.5F  +/- 0.5F.  I've heard rumors that some breeders
AD>adjust hatching time by controlling temperature.  True?  False?
 
I think he addressed this, but I can't find the reply in the log at
present.  There are lots of other unanswered questions there too. . .
 
Anyhow, thanks for bringing this up again.  It nags me. I would
appreciate hearing from others on this, too.
 
 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                      VE6CFK
Rural Route One, Swalwell,  Alberta  Canada  T0M 1Y0
Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588      Email: [log in to unmask]