On Sun, 4 May 1997 08:52:56 -0400 John Wolford <[log in to unmask]>
writes:
 
>Also, how long can you keep a hive unassembled without damaging the
>colony during inspection.  Does it hurt  the colony to inspect more that
once
>monthly?
 
John:
 
You should only be keeping a hive open long enough to
make a determination about whatever is the reason you
are opening the hive. A lot depends on the weather. It
is sort of a common sense thing. Not to be funny, but
the answer is somewhat related to the answer to the
following question: "How long would you walk around
naked on any given day?" The length of time on a cold
rainy day is going to be something different than on a
beautiful 95 degree day in the heat of the summer.
 
There is the quick check type of look and there is the
more in-depth look. The reasons in each case are
different. For instance: In late winter,early spring
you are taking a quick look to see if they have enough
stores to make it thru to nectar gathering. You are looking
to see where they are in the top super. If there are large
numbers at the top of the frames, then they are running
out of food and you better feed them fast as they can
quickly starve to death. The more in-depth look may be
to check the brood rearing pattern or to pull out a frame
with drone cells, for the purpose of pulling some drone
larvae out to check for varroa mites. So... the amount of
time is dependent upon the nature of your mission.
 
When you open/disassemble a hive, you are disrupting
the productive activity of the hive and in effect losing
that day's production. Some say that the loss of normal
production is for about 24 hours. So it is not really a
matter of how many times a month/week, etc.
 
If you are a beginner, it is felt that it is okay to open
more often  than you would otherwise  to see what is
going on, because you are engaged in a learning process.
 
In time, you can really tell a lot about what is going on
by simply standing to the side and observing the comings
and goings and even the "contented hum sound".
 
When something is not right, it is really quite obvious, as
they will act and sound discontented. It's not much
different than observing the coming and goings of
the house across the street from you and the behavior
patterns of the occupants. You can tell if the folks in
that house are a happy and contented lot just by
observation of their routines & behavior patterns, and
yes, even their sounds!
 
Al,
 
Al Needham--Scituate,MA,[log in to unmask]
Author Of "The HoneyBee"--An Educational Program
Check Out " The Amazing BeeCam " At:
http://www.xensei.com/users/alwine/