Hive Records question

[BernardBlack]

I’m just curious to know this, just to keep my hive records correctly.


So... I have a hive. Let’s call it Hive A.

I found some Queen cells in Hive A, so I carried out an Artificial Swarm.

I placed Hive A to the left of its original site, left a Queen cell in the Brood box. Then I found the Queen, and placed her in a new Brood box on the original site.


So... which Hive is now Hive A?

The hive to the left with the Queen cell.... or the hive on the original site with the original Queen?

 

[pargyle]

I’m just curious to know this, just to keep my hive records correctly.


So... I have a hive. Let’s call it Hive A.

I found some Queen cells in Hive A, so I carried out an Artificial Swarm.

I placed Hive A to the left of its original site, left a Queen cell in the Brood box. Then I found the Queen, and placed her in a new Brood box on the original site.


So... which Hive is now Hive A?

The hive to the left with the Queen cell.... or the hive on the original site with the original Queen?

It doesn't matter ... as long as you know which is which and have a record for both,

My records tend to relate to the queen in the colony rather than the box they are in or where it is sited. It falls apart when a queen is superceded but if I know it's happened it's an event that is recorded and the lineage to some degree follows on. I try to keep things a simple as possible ...

 

[BernardBlack]

It doesn't matter ... as long as you know which is which and have a record for both,

My records tend to relate to the queen in the colony rather than the box they are in or where it is sited. It falls apart when a queen is superceded but if I know it's happened it's an event that is recorded and the lineage to some degree follows on. I try to keep things a simple as possible ...

Yeah, that’s the direction I was leaning towards.

 

[Swarm]

My queens ID follows her, pinned inside the roof. In your case, she would stay as A and her original hive would be A-1 until the new queen is laying.

 

[victor meldrew]

I number the hives and name the Queens.
the app I use begs you to name the queens.
I watch John beekeeper Saunders on YouTube, he names his Queens .
I wonder if he uses the same app that I do?

 

[blackcloud]

I have Two broods and two supers for each hive which have colour coded end panels
On spring split one brood and super is moved to a different part of my land.
So I then have Upper apiary blue and lower apiary blue, Upper apiary yellow and lower yellow etc.
I use my own template as the BBKa's one is like a ticking excercise sometimes.

 

[user 20297]

In a diary, I write out in full what I did or has happened to a hive after an inspection; I find that more useful to refer back to than a load of tick-boxes. The hives are numbered and the number refers to its queen. I have a key to the numbering in the front of the diary, and this refers to the queen's source or lineage. When the queen is moved on, the number goes with her. If I thought she was superseded the new queen would keep the number, but I would amend the key for future reference. A new colony, with a new queen gets the next consecutive number. My numbers run out at 10 and I don't intend to go any further into double figures!

 

[elainemary]

I’m just curious to know this, just to keep my hive records correctly.


So... I have a hive. Let’s call it Hive A.

I found some Queen cells in Hive A, so I carried out an Artificial Swarm.

I placed Hive A to the left of its original site, left a Queen cell in the Brood box. Then I found the Queen, and placed her in a new Brood box on the original site.


So... which Hive is now Hive A?

The hive to the left with the Queen cell.... or the hive on the original site with the original Queen?

I got myself into a twist on this one too. In the end my records stay with the queen. When she moves the record goes with her. After all it’s her and her offspring that you’re interested in the performance of rather than a piece of wood or poly. I do have a quick ref for the hive location too

 

[Wilco]

I do both... I have a hive record card for each deep and nuc box. and on it I note which queen is in the hive. When she moves, I record it. This means I can trace through the season. I laminate all mine so can wipe down when they get sticky...

Numbering queens- each initial queen gets a 'name', then number the daughters based on this. So for example, the swarm in my bait hive at home will be 39B (second swarm in my garden). Any daughters would be 39B.1, 39B.2 etc. granddaughters would be 39B.1.1, 39B.1.2, 39B.2.1, etc..

This is the record card I made for mine, I grade temperament and laying pattern out of 10 (10 being best, I mark harshly) plus record number of frames of BIAS.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Impressive...I wish I was that well organised.

 

[Boston Bees]

I used to do all this but now I'm the opposite. I am not claiming to be breeding better genetics, simply acting as a responsible host and letting them sort their own genetics out, so there really isn't any point in long-winded notes and endless boxes to fill in. My stands have numbers, not the queens. My inspection notes are one sentence long and I have stopped keeping any comments older than the last inspection (the only historic information kept is varroa treatment dates and how old the queen is - the latter just for interest really).

 

[Wilco]

Impressive...I wish I was that well organised.

See how long it lasts!

 

[Erichalfbee]

See how long it lasts!

I have only nine colonies though and I really only need to remind myself what the heck I'm doing at the next inspection.

 

[Wilco]

I have only nine colonies though and I really only need to remind myself what the heck I'm doing at the next inspection.

I'm about that plus nucs but planning to expand!

 

[Mabee]

This is mine this year, much simpler than what I used previously. I keep one version inside the hive roof and fill it in during or after each inspection, then take a photo so I can fill it in electronically at home.

I record the Q with Y or E+ if only eggs seen.
Temperament gets a score of 1-3, 3 being horrible, 1 being angels. If too many 2-3’s then they are put on the requeen list.
A/B is whether i’d like to increase from them genetically, A yes, B no.
At the top I name the sheet 22/4, 21,3 (Year of the Queen/no. of hive in the apiary) and apiary location.

 

[pargyle]

Impressive...I wish I was that well organised.

Me too ....

But I know at least one beekeeper whose records extend only to when he has used any treatments on them or changed the queen. The rest of the time a brick on the top of the hive and whether is is upright, horizontal, on one side or upside down tells him everything he needs to know about the state of the hive ...

Me ? I'd forget what each state of the brick meant !

I hesitate to show you my records ... they are pretty minimal and are basically a reminder of when I inspected, what I need to do and whether I've noticed any problems.

 

[jettabee]

I number the hives and name the Queens.
the app I use begs you to name the queens.
I watch John beekeeper Saunders on YouTube, he names his Queens .
I wonder if he uses the same app that I do?

What app is this? ( haven’t started my bees yet but just thinking ahead)

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I number the hives and name the Queens.

so do I
The stands at each apiary are numbered from one up
My queens are called;
One, two,three,four,five....................................

 

[B_north]

I name the hive not the queen, for me she belongs to that hive, and I only keep one set of records but no separate sheet for the queens.

I think if you are new these records can be very helpful. It is hard to remember what you did when, and if it worked or didn't. The first two years I kept a bee diary, that was a godsend for me as a new beekeeper. When it came time for winter prep. I noted how many frames of stores they had, how much syrup was fed, how much sugar I put on in late winter, when I topped it up and how much was left in the spring. I also noted what the temperature was each time I opened the hive to check or add sugar in the winter.

It is extremely helpful for the next year especially because the hives thrived and did very well. That is when your notes are the most valuable, you know what you did worked and at least have a guide to follow that is specific to your area.

 

[Erichalfbee]

It is extremely helpful for the next year especially because the hives thrived and did very well. That is when your notes are the most valuable, you know what you did worked and at least have a guide to follow that is specific to your area.

Amen to that.
I don't try to improve my stock by rearing my own queens but being able to look at what has worked and what hasn't (and I never cease to find stuff to do that doesn't work) is a very valuable thing.