Record every visit to a hive: varroa count, colony mood, queen sighting, brood frames, honey frames, weight, treatments, and more.
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What is an inspection?
An inspection is a single visit to a hive. Every time you open a hive box, you record what you observe as an inspection record: health indicators, population data, queen status, and any treatments or feeding you applied. Over time, these records build a picture of colony health that charts and trend analysis can reveal.
Inspection form open on a hive, showing all sections
Logging an inspection
1
Open the hive
Navigate to the hive detail screen — via the apiary list or by scanning the QR code on the box.
2
Tap New Inspection
The inspection form opens. The date defaults to today but can be changed (for back-dating past visits).
3
Fill in what you observe
Only the date is required. All other fields are optional — record what you checked and skip the rest.
4
Save
The inspection is added to the hive's history and contributes to trend charts immediately.
Saving an inspection — the date and varroa count fields are visible
All inspection fields explained
Colony health
Varroa count
Number of Varroa destructor mites found in a sample wash (sugar roll or alcohol wash of ~100 bees). This is the most important health indicator — high mite loads reduce worker lifespan, weaken the colony, and transmit viruses.
Good: 0–2 mites per 100Act: 3+ mites per 100
Colony mood
How the bees behaved during the inspection. Calm — bees were gentle, moved slowly, few stings. Nervous — bees were agitated, difficult to work with. Aggressive — bees actively attacked, multiple stings.
Goal: mostly Calm
Queen seen
Check this if you visually confirmed the queen during the inspection. If you see fresh eggs but not the queen herself, leave it unchecked — eggs are indirect evidence only.
Queen colour
The international SICAMM colour coding by year. White (years ending 1/6), Yellow (2/7), Red (3/8), Green (4/9), Blue (5/0). Helps you track the queen's age.
Swarm cells seen
Check this if you spotted queen cells being built for swarming. This is an early warning that the colony may swarm within days.
Action required if checked
Population
Brood frames
Number of frames containing brood (eggs, larvae, or capped cells). This measures colony growth potential. A strong, healthy colony in peak season typically fills 7–9 frames in a standard Langstroth.
Good (spring/summer): 6–9 frames
Honey frames
Number of frames containing stored honey. Important for monitoring winter food stores. A colony needs roughly 15–20 kg of honey to survive a cold winter.
Population strength
Subjective 1–5 scale for overall colony strength. Useful when you want to track relative population without counting individual frames.
Weight & treatment
Weight (kg)
Total hive weight from a hive scale. Tracking weight over time shows nectar flows and winter stores consumption without opening the hive.
Treatment applied
Free-text field to note any varroa treatment, antibiotic, or other medication used. Keeping treatment records is a legal requirement in many countries.
Feeding done
Checkbox to record that you fed the colony. Use the Notes field to specify the type and amount.
Feeding type
What you fed: sugar syrup, fondant, pollen substitute, etc.
Tips
Record varroa counts consistently using the same method each time (sugar roll or alcohol wash) so the trend chart is comparable across inspections.
Even a partial inspection (just mood and brood frames) is valuable. Consistent partial records beat perfect records that happen once a year.
