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How often should we be opening the hive?

34K views 75 replies 30 participants last post by  WBVC 
#1 ·
My daughter and love working with the hive, and we have been in it 4 times the last two weeks. we don't open it unless the temp is over 50 degrees. but now that we know that things are well and how fast they are using the syrup, how often should we be opening the hive? We don't want to do harm to the bees.

-Bill
 
#74 ·
That's pretty much the way I look at it too...Bees have been doing their 'thing' for thousands of years. We have been the ones to disturb their natural rhythms through our modern agricultural practices. Creating a safe haven for a hive to have its own space and peace to carry on with their normal business seems to make sense to me.I do like your idea of an observation hatch... will investigate this a little further. Right now I just sit to one side of my hive and watch the comings and goings. I see the pollen being brought back, see that they seem quite content... that's enough for me right now...
 
#75 ·
As a beginner, I spend a lot of time looking at the hives from the outside, but I've been looking at them frame by frame nearly weekly. This isn't optimal for the colony. I imagine, but the purpose these bees are serving is to be my teachers this first year.

Also, my first hives are long hives, and getting bees to expand sideways seems to take more effort than letting them expand vertically. On my older hive, which has been booming, I add a frame or two to the brood nest nearly every week. It's gone from a 5 frame nuc to 20 frames so far.

Anyway, I learn something, good or bad, every time I get into the hives. if I had a bunch of hives, I'd bother them less, and they'd surely do better, but... it's self-education time now.
 
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