How often to inspect?

[ems1978]

I purchased 2 Nucs from Ron Young and we installed them last Sunday. I performed my first inspection of the hives 2 days ago and everything looks great. My question is this, how often should I inspect? Ron has mentioned that he has had issues with swarming, so I want to be careful not to do anything to cause a swarm of my own.

My thought is that since these hives are so new, I should check their progress regularly. However, I am also an eager newbie so I don't want my curiosity to get the best of me and cause problems.

[Wally]

Weekly would be fine, give or take a few days when weather doesn't cooperate.

[ems1978]

Thanks Wally!

On a related note, is there an optimal time of day to inspect? Should I inspect in the morning, evening, or middle of the day? Or does it matter?

[Wally]

The more bees in the field, the less in the hive, so the busiest time of day is best.

[Jacobs]

The best conditions would be sunny, little or no breeze, no unsettled weather heading in (like unstable thunderstorms) and 60 degrees or above, regardless of time of day. Some folks like to go into a hive in mid afternoon or whenever the foragers are really flying on the theory that the hive will be less crowded with many foragers out, and the hive will be less aggressive because foragers tend to be more aggressive than nurse bees.

[Kurt Bower]

No one mentioned that inspection of bees does not cause swarming. In fact it would be just the opposite if done correctly. Honeybees normally only swarm early spring through the honey flow. If brood congestion becomes an issue and the queen does not have adequte space to lay, then swarming will ensue.
Inspection every 10 days is appropriate during the spring but other times of the year, inspections should be done only when necessary depending on what you are trying to achieve or help the bees achieve.

[ems1978]

Thanks again for all the advice!