How often to inspect, and what to write down

It's August. Anne opens her notebook to plan her next inspection and finds the last page says only: June, looked good. She can't remember when she last saw eggs, whether she added the second honey box before or after the rain, or which colony was the grumpy one. Two months of beekeeping, and almost nothing to go on.

So how often should you look inside, and what should you keep track of?

Ontario's agriculture ministry recommends inspecting the brood nest about every two weeks through spring, summer and fall. In swarm season, from late spring into early summer, go every seven to nine days, because a colony can raise new queens and swarm faster than a two week gap allows.

Spring has its own rule. Until days are steadily around fifteen degrees Celsius, keep to quick checks: is the colony alive, and does it feel heavy enough when you heft it. Winter needs very little from you.

Then there's the mite schedule, which runs alongside your inspections. Ontario's ministry now advises sampling for Varroa every month through the season, and before and after every treatment. We'll learn how in module six.

Now, records. Ontario's beekeeping regulation requires every beekeeper to keep a copy of their registration, and a record of how long each bee yard has been at each location. That's the legal minimum. Ontario's best management guidance goes further, and asks you to record your inspections, treatments, purchases, equipment moves and mite counts.

Keep it simple enough that you'll actually do it. For each hive, each visit: the date, the weather, whether you saw eggs, how the brood looked, how much food there was, any queen cells, the temperament, the mite count if you took one, and anything you did, like adding a box or feeding.

Number each hive, right on the box, so your notes always match the right colony. And keep your paperwork with your notes: your registration, and the inspection permit that came with any bees or used equipment you bought. If a colony ever has a problem, an inspector will want to know where it came from and when.

Why bother? Because patterns only show up over time. A queen who is slowly failing, a colony that is always short of food, a mite count creeping up. And if a colony dies over the winter, good records are how you work out why, instead of guessing. They also make every conversation with a mentor or an inspector far more useful.

Now let's change one fact. Suppose Anne had kept a page per hive. In late May she would have noted queen cups in hive two, then a week later cups with larvae in them. With that written down, she'd have known the colony was raising queens, and acted before it swarmed.

The mistake beginners make is trusting memory. After a few inspections the hives blur together. Write it down before you leave the bee yard.

Here is the rule, in one breath. Inspect about every two weeks, every seven to nine days in swarm season, only quick checks in early spring, test for mites monthly, and write down what you saw and did at every visit, because the law requires basic records and your bees depend on the rest.

Next, feeding: when to do it, what to use, and when never to.