Beekeeping records

As a beekeeper, you will discover it extremely difficult to help keep step-by-step documents for a number of reasons. Initially, when you yourself have many hives, it'll seems like it takes a lot of time. You're also hectic maintaining your cigarette smoker going, working on your colonies and attempting never to get stung maintain documents. Secondly, you believe you may make a mental note to write down when you are getting to your kitchen table for meal. It does not likely happen.

For many years, we held "mental notes" back at my hives that was actually no notes at all. "Now which one had been queenless...was it this?" As soon as I started keeping detailed records, I start to be a much better beekeeper. I started to have greater success, less problems and greater honey production. Record maintaining will increase functions.

There are numerous ways you can hold files. The most affordable method is to buy a spiral laptop and go on field with you and write a summary when you inspect each hive. This might be one of my techniques. I usually choose the difficult back time diaries on the job stores simply because they hold-up longer for me. See that one. I have had it a long time! You'll click on the picture and in actual fact read my log entries. Often it is quick and simple: "C5 - Eggs & great brood."

It is possible to hold documents in a 3-ring note book. I prefer this one a lot given that it offers me more area. I am applying this lately. I am able to take it on the go with me, so that as you can observe inside picture, We also paste in digital photos in to the note-book.

In addition keep notes in an even more technological means. I bought an inexpensive pocket digital camcorder and so I will keep a video sign of every colony We inspect.

This works really well because video talk a thousand times a lot more than terms. With movie logging, not only are you able to movie the hive but naturally you can easily narrate in to the video everything you see.

Keep in mind, its not necessary technology. Just a pad of report and a pencil works fine also.

I have discovered that each hive should be assigned some kind of recognition marking. I love to offer every one of my different bee yards a letter. Then, within the yard, i shall designate each hive lots. Therefore a hive is known to me as A1 or D3. We simply take left over metal from the top cover, and slashed it into tiny rectangles, drill a hole within the the surface of the material label, and then utilize my permanent marker to position the identification tagging on the metal. Then, I attach this to the hive it belongs to with a tiny nail. We try to are the material marker during my photos of every hive in order that I know which hive the picture is from. These tags hang on my hives as opposed to making permanent markings on the actual hive box. Why? Because easily compose externally of my top deep brood box, A-5, but later alter that package with another hive...I'm all confused.

Now I cannot worry sufficient how important it really is which you keep a beneficial log with as much information as you possibly can. This is invaluable in deciding the reason why a hive is performing really or why someone passed away.

Below are a few findings you really need to make in your log about each hive when examined:

1) Brood pattern. This will inform you the quality of the queen's laying capability. Very spotty brood reflects a poor queen. There'll be some places on brood, but this is what you might be trying for.

2) General populace. Is it growing as you expected?

3) Do you have a queen? Could you spot the girl or could you see someone to three-day old eggs when you look at the bottom of cells?

4) Do you have excessively round brood? Bullet brood is another term for drone brood. It sticks up more than worker brood and seems quite like a small bullet. Excessively might indicate you've got a laying employee together with queen is fully gone.

5) Condition? Exclude United states Foul Brood, mite infestation, chalk brood or other observable problem.

So a sign entry might review as follows: "3-4-08 we inspected D-18 and failed to spot the queen, but used to do see eggs. Brood design was great. Good population of bees. No noticeable abnormalities. Need certainly to include a brilliant in about 1 week."

Continue to keep monitoring of whenever you began each hive, for which you received your bees and/or queen. Record exactly how old your queen is.