Here are some thoughts on inspection frequency. There is, not surprisingly,
a balance to be struck.  I'm in Boulder, CO, and assuming we're talking
about new beekeepers (first 3 years) with a 1-5 colonies.

>  My advice has
> always been to inspect frequently and learn what normal looks like so you
> can recognise abnormal.
>
  If you inspect too frequently, you won't ever see "normal."  Daily is too
frequent.  You won't see that much progress anyway. Weekly is probably
fine, and I recommend that for new nucs, packages and swarm prevention for
overwintered colonies.  I say that every two weeks is fine for the rest of
the summer and fall.  A mite count must be done monthly.

>
> Technique may play a part as there's obviously a difference between
> gloveless and gentle compared to full suit of armour and bashing them
> around.
>
Yes, definitely!! Use smoke. Try not to use gloves, but have them handy.
Limit the time the hive is open to 15 minutes. Temps 62F+. Take out an end
frame, then ONE frame out at a time, back in the same order order it was
in, especially in the brood nest.  As mentioned already, have a plan or a
goal.  There are 3 basic things to check every time. Food stores, queen
presence, space needs.  Then there are specific questions you might focus
on.  Pick one each time so you don't overwhelm either yourself or the
bees.   I want to see what eggs look like.  I want to see what capped brood
looks like.  I want to see the queen (but don't ravage the colony to do
it).  How much food do they have?  Where are they storing it? Are they
building straight comb?
   I think that sometimes when old-timers give advice to beginners they
forget how much they (old timers) already have going on subconsciously.
Maybe without registering it, we've seen pollen coming in, or not, seen
drones flying, or not, smelled bee bread, our smokers are packed well and
stay lit, we know how much smoke to use and when, we know what the bees
should sound like, we know how many stings to expect.  We know what we mean
by "inspection."  For me a routine inspection means looking at about 3
frames. Now.  But I remember wanting to see what was on every single frame
(in 3-4 deeps and sometimes having all of them out at once and them putting
them back in the way I thought they should go based on the
one-size-fits-all picture in the book and getting so involved in it that I
forgot to give a few puffs of smoke now and then.  I don't remember
noticing whether the bees were watching me.   And, yes, a full suit and
gloves, the old fashioned heavy duty kind.  Bees were tougher then, and so
was I.   I see similar inspection technique in some of my mentorees, and I
have my gloves ready when I visit their hives because the bees are ready
for a bear.
   My beginner classes include a real live hive inspection when the weather
is good for it, and students tell me it's when they learn the most.

> I went to Google (Scholar too) to see if there is any evidence for
> inspection setback  maybe it was done and dusted 100 years ago).
>
   Tibor Szabo (Sr.) did some work on it a while ago.  It might have been
presented at an ABRC conference when they were still stand-alone and in
Texas.  I think he just lifted lids and found fairly long lasting effects,
but I don't remember what, maybe thermal structure of the broodnest?
Taber's 72 hour weight change data is interesting, but I suspect that the
forager behavior isn't affected as much as what's going on in the brood
nest.  Again, you'd have to have a definition of "inspection."  Some of the
new in hive sensors and IR cameras might shed more light.
   So, to sum up, it depends, as usual.
Cheers,
Kristina Williams
Boulder, CO

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