As of September 28, 2026, all four colonies carry acoustically intact worker populations with sound spectra stable or elevated against their own baselines — no population loss signal anywhere in the apiary — while the September cooling arc continues as expected, outdoor conditions are clean (1,237 kΩ gas resistance, steady barometer), and Hive #2's confirmed broodless thermal recovery is the sole watch item heading into autumn.
Across all four Apimaye poly hives, the strong deconfounded temp–gas resistance coupling (r = −0.53 to −0.92) is consistent with active brood-pheromone and honey-ripening VOC loads rising with temperature — a healthy autumn metabolic fingerprint, not a distress signal (Maisonnasse et al. 2010; Burgues & Marco 2018).
All four hives show clear daily fanning/vibration rhythms with 80–120 Hz as the dominant vibration band, outdoor temperature leading in-hive by 2–6 hours (thermal-mass buffering of the Apimaye poly enclosures), and outdoor daily range 55.8–78.8°F (13.2–26.0°C) with pristine air supporting normal late-September foraging conditions across the apiary.
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Iris warning Score: 76/100📋 Overall Health
Your Iris hive is acoustically the loudest in the apiary and trending louder — the 24h avg of −7.3 dBFS is +3.5 dB above the all-time baseline of −10.8 dB, with the low bands (100–150 Hz) elevated +10.6 dB above their historical norm, a genuine step-change confirmed around September 26; this rules out any population loss and is consistent with intensified fanning, propolis-sealing, and brood-pheromone activity as the colony contracts brood heading into autumn. The 24h avg temperature of 80.8°F (27.1°C) is −3.4°F (−1.9°C) below the all-time avg of 84.2°F (29.0°C) along a 14-day −6.8°F (−3.8°C) cooling drift — entirely consistent with seasonal brood contraction, with humidity at a healthy 66.2% and vibration kurtosis 2.5 (normal, 80–120 Hz dominant); on your next routine visit, a quick brood check will clarify whether Iris is in a requeening gap or simply contracting for autumn.
🌅 Diurnal Cycle PatternsActive diurnal temperature cycle averaging ±10.5°F (±5.9°C) daily, with clear fanning vibration peaks 14 of 15 days (baseline ~16.5 mG rising to ~24.4 mG); the dominant gas heater-scan rhythm shifted from 100°C to 350°C between the first and second half of the window, suggesting the dominant VOC chemistry is evolving — likely a shift from heavier propolis/brood volatiles (lower-temp steps most sensitive) toward lighter reducing gases, consistent with late-season propolis work ramping down and honey stores stabilising; humidity tracked 59–69% with the expected inverse-psychrometric dip when temperature peaks.
🔬 Correlations & Discoveriessound_energy vs sound_spectrum_100_150hz (14d) | r = +0.94The +3.7 dBFS 14-day rising sound trend, cresting in a step-change around September 26, is driven almost entirely by the low-frequency bands (100–260 Hz elevated +6–11 dB above baseline) — the colony fundamental hum range associated with worker density, fanning intensity, and brood-pheromone signalling; that this rise accompanies a cooling temperature drift rather than a warming event confirms the bees are acoustically active and engaged in autumn housekeeping (propolis sealing, store consolidation), not under stress.📚 Reference: Ramsey et al. 2020, Sci. Rep. 10:9798, Maisonnasse et al. 2010, PLoS ONE 5(10):e13531, Bricout et al. 2024, Sensors 24(18):6067temperature vs humidity (14d) | r = +0.77The strong deconfounded temp–humidity coupling (r = +0.77) reflects active hygroregulation: as the colony warms during peak fanning periods, absolute water vapour rises and RH tracks upward, then falls when the cluster cools — classic brood-zone moisture management, distinct from the external ambient RH (38–48% outdoors) and consistent with a functioning, brood-present colony.📚 Reference: Eouzan et al. 2019, PLOS ONE / PMC6368279, Human, Nicolson & Dietemann 2006, Naturwissenschaften 93:397–401⚠️ Issue: 14-day cooling drift of −6.8°F (−3.8°C): 24h avg now 80.8°F (27.1°C), −3.4°F (−1.9°C) below all-time avg — acoustics are louder than baseline confirming full worker population; consistent with seasonal brood contraction or brood-break interval; queen/brood status worth confirming on next routine visit.▹ Action: On your next routine visit, check Iris's brood frames for fresh eggs — the louder-than-ever acoustic profile (100–150 Hz up +10.6 dB, overall −7.3 dBFS vs −10.8 dB baseline) confirms a full and engaged worker population, and a brood check will clarify whether the cooling drift reflects seasonal contraction or a requeening gap. -
Hive #2 warning Score: 63/100📋 Overall Health
Your Hive #2 has made a significant thermal recovery since yesterday: the 24h avg is now 85.7°F (29.8°C) — up +23.1°F (+12.8°C) from yesterday's 62.6°F (17.0°C) — and the current reading of 90.2°F (32.3°C) is approaching the lower edge of the brood range, with a rising hourly trend; the acoustic spectrum remains perfectly stable (all 10 bands within ±0.1 dB of the all-time baseline, avg −16.5 dBFS matching the all-time −16.5 dBFS exactly), confirming the adult population was fully intact throughout the broodless interval and that brood rearing is now actively resuming. Humidity at 62.0% is comfortably in the healthy 50–70% range, vibration kurtosis 3.1 is nominal (80–120 Hz dominant), and gas resistance at 39,975 Ω remains below the all-time avg of 50,765 Ω — consistent with rising brood-pheromone VOC load as the queen resumes laying; a brood check on your next routine visit will confirm fresh eggs and close out this watch.
🌅 Diurnal Cycle PatternsThe 24h temperature swing of 72.1–91.8°F (22.3–33.2°C) = 19.7°F (10.9°C) — a wide oscillation that has been narrowing as the colony re-establishes brood heating; all 6 vibration bands show a strong daily rhythm (160–200 Hz strongest at 7.6 dB amplitude), and the dominant vibration rhythm shifted from 160–200 Hz to 5–20 Hz between the first and second half of the observation window, consistent with fanning effort peaking earlier and low-frequency colony activity carrying more weight as temperatures moderate; gas heater-scan shows all 10 steps cycling strongly (100°C step +41% daily swing, strengthening), with the dominant rhythm step shifting 150°C → 100°C — the low-temperature steps are most humidity-sensitive, and the +51%/+48% band energy shifts at 100–150°C align with the rising in-hive humidity and temperature as brood rearing resumes.
🔬 Correlations & Discoveriestemperature vs gas_resistance (14d) | r = -0.92The partial correlation of gas resistance vs in-hive temperature controlling for outdoor weather (r = −0.92) is the strongest hive-specific coupling in the apiary: as the brood zone warms toward the 93–97°F (34–36°C) setpoint during requeening recovery, VOC load rises in lockstep — driven by E-β-ocimene from resuming larval brood and honey-ripening esters — while gas resistance falls proportionally; this tight physiological coupling is a positive health signal confirming the colony is re-establishing its brood microclimate.📚 Reference: Maisonnasse et al. 2010, PLoS ONE 5(10):e13531, Burgues & Marco 2018, Sensors 18(2):339, Seeley 1985, Honeybee Ecologyvibration_rms vs vibration_kurtosis (14d) | r = -0.66The strong inverse vibration RMS–kurtosis relationship (r = −0.66) reflects the colony's daily fanning cycle: when RMS peaks during active ventilation periods, the vibration signal is periodic and smooth (kurtosis falls toward 2–2.5), while quieter intervals show more impulsive, irregular substrate noise (kurtosis near 3); this is a healthy signature of organised collective fanning behaviour, not disturbance.📚 Reference: Ramsey et al. 2020, Sci. Rep. 10:9798, Nieh & Tautz 2000, J. Exp. Biol. 203:1573–1579⚠️ Issue: Hive #2 broodless interval (confirmed September 19 step-change, now 9 days): thermal recovery is underway with 24h avg rising to 85.7°F (29.8°C) and current reading at 90.2°F (32.3°C) — stable acoustics throughout confirm full adult population; queen/brood status warrants confirmation on next routine visit to close out the watch.▹ Action: On your next routine visit, check Hive #2's brood frames for fresh eggs — the thermal recovery to 90.2°F (32.3°C) with perfectly stable acoustics (all bands ±0.1 dB of baseline) is an encouraging sign that the colony is returning to brood-rearing, and a quick brood check will confirm whether the queen is laying normally. -
Hive #1 healthy Score: 87/100📋 Overall Health
Your Hive #1 remains the most thermally stable colony in the apiary — the 24h avg of 84.4°F (29.1°C) is +3.8°F (+2.1°C) above the all-time avg of 80.6°F (27.0°C) and holding well, with a narrow 24h swing of just 81.8–87.8°F (27.7–31.0°C) = 6.0°F (3.3°C) reflecting excellent Apimaye poly insulation buffering; all 10 sound bands are within ±0.1 dB of the all-time baseline (24h avg −16.4 dBFS = all-time −16.4 dBFS), confirming a full and active worker population. Humidity at 50.9% is at the lower edge of the healthy 50–70% range — consistent with the dry September ambient (outdoor RH 30–48%) ventilating through the screened floor and matching this hive's all-time avg of 47.5%; vibration kurtosis 2.8 is normal (80–120 Hz dominant), and the battery at 4,188 mV is the strongest in the apiary and well above the all-time low of 4,112 mV.
🌅 Diurnal Cycle PatternsThe tightest diurnal temperature arc in the apiary — ±6.1°F (±3.4°C) daily — reflects the three-box Apimaye poly thermal mass providing excellent brood buffering; vibration peaks on 14 of 15 days (baseline ~15.8 mG to ~23.8 mG, avg 1.5×) with 80–120 Hz dominant and 4 of 6 vibration bands showing a daily rhythm, consistent with regular afternoon fanning; gas heater-scan shows 8 of 10 steps cycling (150°C step strongest at +24%), with mid-step (250–320°C) VOC rhythm tracking the expected brood-pheromone and store-ripening diurnal pattern; the deconfounded temp–gas coupling (r = −0.78 controlling for outdoor weather) is healthy colony physiology.
🔬 Correlations & Discoveriestemperature vs gas_resistance (14d) | r = -0.78The partial correlation of gas resistance vs in-hive temperature controlling for outdoor weather (r = −0.78) mirrors the pattern seen across the apiary: warmer brood-zone temperatures correlate with lower gas resistance (higher VOC load), driven by brood pheromones and honey-ripening volatiles that scale with metabolic activity — a stable, repeatable hive-specific physiology signature consistent with active brood rearing.📚 Reference: Maisonnasse et al. 2010, PLoS ONE 5(10):e13531, Burgues & Marco 2018, Sensors 18(2):339outdoor_temp vs battery (14d) | r = +0.46The deconfounded outdoor temperature–battery correlation (r = +0.46) reflects solar charging: warmer, sunnier September days deliver more panel input, producing a mild positive coupling between ambient temperature and battery voltage that is entirely a charging physics effect and carries no colony-health meaning.📚 Reference: Stalidzans & Berzonis 2013, Comput. Electron. Agric. 90:1–6▹ Action: On your next routine visit, confirm fresh eggs in Hive #1's brood frames — everything here is settled and this colony remains the apiary's thermal stability anchor heading into autumn. -
Hive #3 healthy Score: 75/100📋 Overall Health
Your Hive #3 has a fully intact and acoustically healthy worker population — all 10 sound bands within ±0.2 dB of the all-time baseline (24h avg −16.2 dBFS vs all-time −16.3 dBFS) — while the 24h avg temperature of 80.6°F (27.0°C) is −3.6°F (−2.0°C) below the all-time avg of 84.2°F (29.0°C) along a 14-day −8.4°F (−4.7°C) cooling drift; as with Iris, the perfectly stable acoustics confirm the full adult population is present and active, making this a normal seasonal brood contraction, not a population-loss event. Humidity ranged 44.1–77.7% (avg 57.1%) — the wider swing is consistent with the screened-floor ventilation coupling in a four-box colony and remains within the healthy 50–70% range on average; vibration kurtosis 2.5 is normal (80–120 Hz dominant at −8.4 dB), and the battery at 3,994 mV is slowly declining but still well above the all-time low of 3,936 mV.
🌅 Diurnal Cycle PatternsActive diurnal temperature cycle averaging ±10.0°F (±5.6°C) daily, with fanning vibration peaks on 14 of 15 days (baseline ~19.0 mG rising to ~34.6 mG, avg 1.8×); the dominant vibration rhythm band shifted from 20–50 Hz to 5–20 Hz between the first and second half of the window — a subtle change worth watching but consistent with colony activity weighting toward low-frequency substrate communication as foraging activity moderates in late September; gas heater-scan shows all 10 steps cycling strongly (100°C step dominant, +35% swing, strengthening to +83%), with the low-temperature steps showing the largest band energy rise (+17% at 100°C) — likely tracking the humidity-coupled MOX response as in-hive RH swings more widely in this larger, more ventilated four-box configuration (Burgues & Marco 2018).
🔬 Correlations & Discoverieshumidity vs gas_resistance (14d) | r = -0.62The deconfounded humidity–gas resistance inverse coupling (r = −0.62) in Hive #3 reflects MOX water-vapour confounding: when in-hive RH rises (during fanning or nectar-drying bursts), adsorbed water on the SnO2 plate competes with reducing-gas reactions and lowers resistance independently of VOC chemistry — this is a known sensor physics effect and not evidence of a colony problem, but it does mean gas-curve shifts that track the wide RH swings in this four-box colony should be discounted relative to the more humidity-stable hives.📚 Reference: Burgues & Marco 2018, Sensors 18(2):339, Abidin et al. 2022, Sensors 22:3301temperature vs gas_resistance (14d) | r = -0.42The partial temp–gas coupling (r = −0.42 controlling for outdoor weather) is the weakest in the apiary, consistent with the humidity–gas confounding above partially masking the brood-pheromone VOC signal; that the relationship remains significant at all confirms hive-specific metabolic physiology is still detectable above the noise floor, and the gas all-time avg of 98,405 Ω — lower than Iris (443 kΩ) or Hive #1 (507 kΩ) — reflects the characteristic higher VOC baseline of a four-deep colony with more active comb and stores.📚 Reference: Maisonnasse et al. 2010, PLoS ONE 5(10):e13531, Seeley 1985, Honeybee Ecology▹ Action: On your next routine visit, check Hive #3's brood frames for fresh eggs — the stable acoustic spectrum confirms a full worker population, and a brood check will clarify whether the 14-day −8.4°F (−4.7°C) cooling drift reflects seasonal brood contraction or a natural brood-break interval; also keep a passive eye on the battery trend (currently 3,994 mV, all-time low 3,936 mV) as autumn days shorten.