How long can brood survive outside the hive?

[ugcheleuce]

[also asked in beekeepingforum.co.uk]

Hello everyone

If the outside temperature is 15-20 degrees Celsius (60-70 Fahrenheit), and I remove a frame with brood (closed and/or open brood) from the hive, how long can I keep that frame outside the hive before the brood is damaged/hurt/affected by the fact that it is no longer being kept at 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit)?

A fellow beginner beekeeper believes that you really can't keep the frame outside the hive for longer than a minute before you get catastrophic damage to the brood, but I thought that it would be okay to keep the frame outside the hive for half an hour, without affecting the eggs, larvae and pupae in any detrimental way.

The reason I'm asking is because I want to transfer frames from one hive into another hive, but the two hives have incompatible sizes, and that means that I would have to spend about 5-10 minutes per frame cutting it and reshaping it before hanging it into the new hive. Of course there will be no bees on the frame while I work with it, but there will be brood on it (that's the point).

In addition to your opinion (which I value), do you know of any studies that have been done in this regard?

Thanks
Samuel

[merince]

60F is on the lower side and will probably cause chilled brood. Try to manipulate the frame somewhere away from drafts and if at all possible in your house or car where the temps will be higher. Capped and older brood (ready to emerge or emerging) is generally sturdier than eggs and open larva.

Sorry, I don't have a definite answer for you.

[Vance G]

If you prepared your frame to receive the cut down comb by making a grid of fishing line so you could quickly make the cuts and lay it in and have small nails preplaced to wrap with fishing line or rubber bands to hold the comb in, I can't see why a dexterous young man couldn't have the comb back in the receiver colony within two minutes.  In the sixties that would not fatally harm the brood.  setting up and a plan are everything.