John Wolford wrote:
 
> Does it hurt  the colony to inspect more that once monthly?
 
John,
 
As to frequency of hive inspections, I understand that there is good
scientific evidence that openning a hive disrupts it to some degree for
two days.  I would guess that, all things being equal, the less often a
colony is openned the better it would do.  All things are seldom, if
ever, equal though.
 
Why do you keep bees?  If it is for pleasure, then learning about what
goes on inside the hive may be of more value than some theoretial
optimum of hive activity.
 
Are there pluses to inspections that might outweigh any drawbacks to
inspections more often than monthly (such as spotting swarm
preparations, queenlessness, disease, or some such)?  I think so.
 
How much harm do you do to your colony if you inspect at weekly
intervals?  I do inspect at about that frequency, and I have often
watched workers do their "dances" on frames I was holding during an
inspection.  I have often watched the queen examine cells and make a
selection, then back into the cell and lay an egg.  While I carry on
inspections workers continue to enter and leave the hive (at lowered
rates?).  I have had crops vary from nothing (during a particularly cool
or dry or wet season) to 295 pounds of honey (that is measured by weight
after extraction, not guessed at by hefting the hive).
 
I enjoy my bees, and if there is some theoretical improvement possible
from inspecting less often, I really do not care.
 
- -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -
"Test everything.  Hold on to the good."  (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
 
Tom Elliott
Eagle River, Alaska
U.S.A.
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