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After a number of years of relatively laissez faire beekeeping I am trying to monitor the hives closely, to learn better beekeeping methods. I've been checking hives about every five days so far this spring. I won't do this much inspecting once we get into the dearth - actually maybe once the supers fill up, as my back won't take lifting full supers off for repeated inspections. But for now, I'm keeping a close eye on the hives and learning.
I'm wondering: does anyone know of any studies as to how long it takes an unsmoked but thoroughly inspected colony to recover the temperature regulation needed for the brood? I don't know if I might be setting the colonies back by my five-day interval on inspections, since that's quite a lot. I use no smoke, or minimal occasionally, so that minimizes the intrusion. But I can feel that waft of warmth as I lift off the inner cover, which I associate with brood production.
Thanks for any informed insights!
I'm wondering: does anyone know of any studies as to how long it takes an unsmoked but thoroughly inspected colony to recover the temperature regulation needed for the brood? I don't know if I might be setting the colonies back by my five-day interval on inspections, since that's quite a lot. I use no smoke, or minimal occasionally, so that minimizes the intrusion. But I can feel that waft of warmth as I lift off the inner cover, which I associate with brood production.
Thanks for any informed insights!