A beekeeper searching to improve beekeeping by combining old wisdom with new technology

[JIM HINSHELWOOD]

Hi fellow beekeepers!

I wanted to introduce myself and share my journey at the intersection of beekeeping and technology.
I've been keeping bees for 7 years, managing 20 hives, and like many of you,
I've experienced the practical challenges of hive inspections - from taking notes with gloved hands to maintaining consistent inspection practices while working through my apiary.

As a software developer, I found myself uniquely positioned to address some of these common pain points. I'm currently developing software specifically designed for beehive inspections, born from my own experiences in the field. My focus has been on solving real-world problems we face during inspections, like the awkwardness of documentation while wearing protective gear and maintaining systematic inspection protocols.

I'm particularly interested in connecting with other beekeepers to understand your experiences and challenges with hive inspections. What methods do you use to record observations during inspections? How do you manage documentation while wearing a veil and gloves? What inspection protocols have you found most effective?
Looking forward to learning from your collective wisdom and sharing insights as we work to improve our beekeeping practices.

Anton Antonov

My wife and I do our Apiary inspections together (20 Hives and several nucs) and whilst one of us reassembles the hive after checking, the other updates the records. We use a loose leaf binder with a sheet per hive/nuc and it works for us .

 

[AJAntonov]

Thank you Jim !

 

[Do224]

I started using the Apiarist App last season. Pretty simple to use. I just use the basic features to record the essentials

 

[Paul_Ward1]

I bought a cheap dictaphone from eBay. Transfer to basic spreadsheet after the inspections. It’s just a memory jogger really as, like others, I’ve forgotten the details of hive 1 once I’m on hive 2!
I’ve tried a couple of apps. You have to record what they want and not how you want to do it. Phones covered in propolis etc. so gave up.
Notebooks are also great.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

Gave some colonies away and for the new beekeeper i looked back through my notebook. Often made very little sense.
I have a range of abbreviations. Q =queen, Sp = space, St = stores, T=temper. BIAS. .. with suffixes eg. St++ = loads of stores, Q m = queen seen and marked.

Tried posting to Twitter when I had one or two hives. Tried writing on the lid for a while. Some permanent marker more permanent than others. Ran out of space.

 

[Sutty]

How about a Bluetooth headset paired with an app that can recognise a phrase like "inspecting hive 3" and then prompt a user-defined sequence of questions and record the spoken answers, converting them to text, and appending the resultant text to hive 3's record.
So, for example:
Inspecting hive 3
How many brood boxes?
2
How many frames of bees?
18
Are there eggs?
 yes
Is there open brood?
 yes
Is there sealed brood?
 yes
Any disease suspected?
 none
Any queen cells?
yes
What manipulations were performed?
queen moved to a nuc and cells reduced to one
Actions for next inspection?
Remove emergency cells

If the app could recognise the key phrase of "inspecting hive x" or "new inspection" or "finalise inspection" it could save a partial inspection and start another eg after just checking for eggs with a new queen. Or preferably just ask for actions for next time.

 

[JamezF]

Tried posting to Twitter when I had one or two hives. Tried writing on the lid for a while. Some permanent marker more permanent than others. Ran out of space.

I read a suggestion recently to write on the roof after closing up. Then when everything is done in the apiary for that session, take a photo of each roof so "proper" notes can be made later.

James

 

[Parsonage Bees]

I read a suggestion recently to write on the roof after closing up. Then when everything is done in the apiary for that session, take a photo of each roof so "proper" notes can be made later.

James

You've done 3 processes there to make one useful note.
For Anton I like what @Sutty suggested above. Voice to text is proven tech now.
One of my hives is called Owl. I could start inspection saying "Inspecting hive Owl - last inspection" and it says "Hive Owl, last inspection 8 days ago, queen marked, found, bees in all stages, cell cups, 6 frames of bees, stores good . .special comments . . . ". A beekeeper with more hives might have a QR code printed on a label on the crownboard. If system could be intelligent enough to recognize words like "queen" and fill in the queen related boxes in the form rather than running through a script would be better. It would be expecting "found" or "marked" or "mated" or "virgin" or ? Anything such as "Ouch! You little bastard . . . . " would have to be ignored!!
I rarely look at previous log entries before an inspection. Would be useful.
Just a train of thought. Not going to be something I'd spend money on given just 5 hives.

#edit again# At the end of the inspection could say "Hive Owl inspection current" and it reads back what you said and it recognized and you either "confirm" or "add . . . . ". ?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

it seems to me that paper, pencil, translate to permanent record in study is a much easier system and less fraught with danger.

 

[Parsonage Bees]

it seems to me that paper, pencil, translate to permanent record in study is a much easier system and less fraught with danger.

If I do more than a couple of hives before writing something down the detail of the first hive is getting rather fuzzy.
Some beeks would enjoy using clever systems even if they have just a few hives.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

If I do more than a couple of hives before writing something down the detail of the first hive is getting rather fuzzy.

one pocket notebook, jot a few bullet points, one line is sufficient, after closing up and before moving to the next

 

[BeeKeyPlayer]

My wife came up with this mnemonic to make sure I check the important things in an inspection:

Bears Prowl Round To Snatch Dinner

(I don't mean to insult anyone's intelligence but equally don't want to cause any irritation either. So the reminder is for Brood, Pattern, Room, Temperament, Stores, Disease.)

 

[AJAntonov]

I started using the Apiarist App last season. Pretty simple to use. I just use the basic features to record the essentials

What features do you like ?

 

[Do224]

What features do you like ?

I like that it’s simple to use. Set up each apiary and each hive and then just add inspections with notes

 

[Murox]

I started using the Apiarist App last season. Pretty simple to use. I just use the basic features to record the essentials

I see that it's only for iPad and iPhone; how do you manage to input data when at the apiary?

 

[Do224]

I see that it's only for iPad and iPhone; how do you manage to input data when at the apiary?

I do it on my iPhone…

 

[Murox]

I do it on my iPhone…

Doesn't it get sticky?

 

[Do224]

Doesn't it get sticky?

Haha, I do an inspection and then take my gloves off to update the app and then repeat with the next hive. Not had any problems with stickiness

 

[Ely]

Some people take notes and then transfer to excel spreadsheet when they get home. I'm too lazy to switch a computer on for that method and like to get everything done there and then in the apiary. Up until recently I did everything by memory but that started to get me into trouble when I entered my 40s. Now I scribble things on the roofs. I think a better system will be needed soon

 

[Sting101]

I use siri for simple things like taking notes for hive weights etc, even more complex note taking is possible, caveat is if you pause too long she finishes your note and you need to restart. "hey Siri take a note" she replies what do you want it to say? "hIve LL23 is alive and well and weighs 22kg" I use it all the time very easy and then take off the notes to my spreadsheet. simple no handed approach with limitations, surely a step up from this must be just around the corner??