What temp to low to pull frames?

[Paul McCarty]

Just getting a handle on what temp most people let the air get to before they open up the hive and start pulling frames?

[twgreen3]

I won't consider it below 60 and prefer at least 65

[squarepeg]

agree with 65, that seems to be the temp that they really break cluster and there is a lot of flying. maybe low 60's if the sun is shining and there is no wind.

[Vance G]

The more important question, is what do you have to get done in there today if it is marginal? Wind matters as much as temp. Never go in unless you have something to do that needs done that day. Waqit for seventies and light wind for curiosity trips.

[EastSideBuzz]

55 or above for me. We here in WA dont see 60's very often. They are grumpy below 65.

[Michael Palmer]

I think waiting until 65 isn't going to work for me. When I have bee work to do, it gets done. I've transferred nucleus colonies into new boxes when it was snowing. I've checked cluster size when bees are in the bottom box when it's 35 by pulling a couple combs and looking. Bees on the pulled combs stayed on the comb and were back into the cluster in a minute.

You handle bees differently than at 65...move slowly and the bees will remain clustered. Don't drop bees on the ground. Don't remove brood and lean it up against the side of a hive. Bees are more resiliant than you are giving them credit for.

Try getting whole yards ready for apple pollination in Vermont at the end of April....equalizing, reversing, strapping, etc. There are few 65 degree days and if you don't do the work the bees won't be ready to go when the orchard calls.

[sqkcrk]

I think waiting until 65 isn't going to work for me. When I have bee work to do, it gets done.

Michael says it better than I, but it boils down to "Do what needs doing when you can, not when you want to or when you think best." That could be the difference between someone who works bees and someone who has bees and plenty of time to tend to both of them.

[squarepeg]

that's good to know. thanks mike and mark. what about grafting? is there a minimum temp that is safe for working with eggs and young larvae?

[Michael Palmer]

By grafting time, the weather has warmed and most every day is above 60. I pull the grafting comb from the breeder hive...a one story box with queen confined to 3 combs, brush the bees off, and take it to my grafting room...the front seat of my Jeep. I can put the heater on if needed, but it's usually hot enough that I park in the shade with the windows open. Actually, it's high temperatures and low humidity that are more of a problem during the cell building season.

[FThoney]

50 degrees, sunny, dry and no wind is good weather to do a quick inspection. It doesn't have to be an emergency to warrant opening them up. Go ahead and check them out of curiosity if you must, they won't die.