incubator temperature

[piggy]

How critical is incubator temp. I set mine at 34C. Will 1or 2 degree up or down make a difference. I ask this as I am sure as a lot of digital equipment is not 100% accurate.

 

[B+.]

How critical is incubator temp. I set mine at 34C. Will 1or 2 degree up or down make a difference. I ask this as I am sure as a lot of digital equipment is not 100% accurate.

I have mine set at 35.0 degrees C with an alarm set if it varies +/- 0.1 degrees. Humidity is set at 50%.
I think there is some scope for variation around these levels but it may affect development time if you stray too far from them.

 

[Millet]

When hatching eggs in a brinsea i always place a mercury type thermometer on top of the eggs which proved that the digital display on both of my incubators was out by 1 degree.

 

[For want of a better word]

I run my incubator at 34 deg C and a RH of 74... perhaps the native bees run cooler than their hotter Mediterranean cousins?

Yeghes da

 

[jaybee76]

My last batch (and first batch of the year), it took me three or four days to notice that I'd obviously lent it to someone to hatch chicken eggs since using it the previous year and it was set to 37. It might have had some impact but still had >75% emergence so I suspect that it isn't that critical.

I reset it to 34 which is what I normally have it set at.

 

[protheroe]

I run mine at 35. between 34 to 36 is fine.try to keep withing a degree.i use an stc 1000 for temp control and that keeps it within half a degree

 

[user 6228]

read this in short small differences in temperature matter
Tautz, J., Maier, S., Groh, C., Rössler, W., & Brockmann, A. (2003). Behavioral performance in adult honey bees is influenced by the temperature experienced during their pupal development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(12), 7343–7347. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1232346100

 

[piggy]

Thanks Derek, think I will turn temp up to 35C.

 

[For want of a better word]

read this in short small differences in temperature matter
Tautz, J., Maier, S., Groh, C., Rössler, W., & Brockmann, A. (2003). Behavioral performance in adult honey bees is influenced by the temperature experienced during their pupal development. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 100(12), 7343–7347. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1232346100

Can you recommend any papers that discuss raising of queens at different temperatures....????

Queen swarm cells tend to be located around the periphery of the comb and supercedure ( and emergency) cells tend to be towards the center... is there a temperature gradient across the comb?

Yeghes da

 

[B+.]

I did a test on my Brinsea after a comment someone made earlier. It ranged between 34.8 and 35.5.
I had it set at 35 degrees C and 70% RH with the alarms switched off for the test. The model I have has adjustable vents in the front and fans in the back to even out the temperature throughout the cabinet. The temperature sensor is at the top so I would expect this to be the hottest part. I tried the Max-Min thermometer on each shelf and it was consistent, so, the fans did a pretty good job of ensuring even temperature.

Just to correct what I said earlier, the humidity was set at 70% and not 50% as I said. From everything I have read, humidity can be anywhere between 50 and 70%

 

[user 6228]

Can you recommend any papers that discuss raising of queens at different temperatures....????

Queen swarm cells tend to be located around the periphery of the comb and supercedure ( and emergency) cells tend to be towards the center... is there a temperature gradient across the comb?

Yeghes da

the other one i have found is Medrzycki, P., Sgolastra, F., Bortolotti, L., Bogo, G., Tosi, S., Padovani, E., … Sabatini, A. G. (2010). Influence of brood rearing temperature on honey bee development and susceptibility to poisoning by pesticides. Journal of Apicultural Research, 49(1), 52–59. http://doi.org/10.3896/IBRA.1.49.1.07

re gradient i can only say its complicated