Alien Invasion?

It's just another Saturday morning and the family is busy puttering around the house. Then out of nowhere, a sharp crack pierces the air, followed by a flood of bright light. In an instant the roof is gone. After everybody’s eyes adjust to the light, a frightening form takes shape against the sky. Peering down through the space where the roof once was is a giant lumbering menace from another world.

Older members of the family have seen this before.

“Run for cover!”
“Where’s the queen?”
“Keep the children safe!”

As the guards ready their attack, an alarm sounds and the house fills with smoke.

“There’s a fire!”

Suddenly, the monster raises a steel hook and begins jabbing, and slicing, and tearing at the walls.

“They took the queen!”
“Stay with her!”
“They’re installing a tracking device!”

A violent shaking shatters their sanctuary as it cracks open to the core. Before they know it, the nursery with all the babies is sucked into the sky where it hangs in mid-air, rotating against the sun. Soon another room is wrenched from its footings, and another. Their world is turned upside down and inside out. And then, it’s all over.

Alien invasion?

No, just another hive inspection on a beautiful Saturday morning.

Hive inspections are invasive and traumatic for bees, and every inspection sets the colony back a notch. That means if there are many inspections, the bees don’t ever really recover. Their numbers and honey production are permanently reduced to a lower level than what would have been — unless of course, there’s a condition that requires intervention.

How can you balance your need to know, with the bees’ need to be left alone? Some inspections are necessary, but there’s a price to pay. So how often should you inspect your beehives? It depends on who you ask. The best advice I have found comes from Rusty Burlew at HoneyBeeSuite who recommends, “as often as necessary, but as seldom as possible”.