I know bearding is a normal hive activity but I was thinking that if I can minimize it I can gain more production from the bees.
List some ways you ventilate the hive w/o the threat of robbers?
Not really sure how much production you will gain by simply getting all your bees back inside.
Bees generally beard when temps are above 90. This also is the time when most flowers do not put off much in the way of nectar, or at a time of the season when the main flow stops.
Bees do go in frugal mode at this time of the year. They choose to do so. And can be seen by taking two hives, placing one with a box of foundation, and the other with drawn comb on top. The foundation will be normally ignored, while the bees will fill the drawn comb. So by increasing the area of the hive, and even cracking the lid, and two hives will react very differently.
Did you ever think that all those bees outside the hive seemingly doing nothing, would be the same bees inside a cooler hive.....doing nothing. ;) It is late July. :)