Have you tried hefting? I'm sure you have. Also, a handheld IR thermometer costing $25 or so can tell you how warm a hive is. That can tell you about presence or lack, and location of any brood. I have pictures on my website. Search here: http://www.honeybeeworld.com/beesearch.htm I also used mine to compare hive insulation and to demonstrate that the new EPS one-piece boxes Meijers are making are as good an insulator as BeeMax, even though they are denser and far stronger. *********************************************** The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at: http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm