Taking notes about your beekeeping can be extremely beneficial to monitor your hive’s health and behaviors. Doing so can also help you observe and learn about their behaviors, why they do what they do and when troubleshooting issues.
There are many ways that you can take notes while beekeeping:
- A simple pen/pencil and a notebook
- Dedicated beekeeping logbooks
- Printable resources are offered by many beekeepers on various platforms and can be printed over and over to make as many copies as you need.
- Beekeeping apps and websites
- Take videos and photos
- Note cards on the hive
- Monitor and scales products
If you’re looking to take your hive tracking to the next level, technology can help. Monitors and scales collect a wide range of data, often collected via Bluetooth on a phone. Many allow upload to the cloud for subsequent review, charts and more.
As an example, the SolutionBee HM6 automatically collects valuable data like temperature, humidity, and hive weight. This real-time information helps you understand what’s happening inside the hive without disturbing your bees, making it easier to spot trends, detect potential issues early, and make informed decisions about your beekeeping practices. It’s a smart way to pair technology with observation to better support your colony’s health.
Taking notes while beekeeping can help you track brood development, queen activity, and population changes. This in turn can help you catch problems early like signs of disease, wonky comb (burr comb) and swarming to name a few. Most problems, if caught early, can be corrected!
Tracking factors throughout the year such as weather, bloom cycles and temperature shifts can really give you an advantage in future years, so you know what to expect and when to expect it. By tracking these, you can be prepared for your area’s typical nectar flow or when your area goes into a dearth.
Note taking helps both beginners and experienced keepers alike. You can learn from your hives successes and failures, build confidence and gain a deeper understanding of the dynamics of a beehive. And more specifically, your beehive(s)!
Even simple notes can play an essential role in the success of your beekeeping journey. Start small – take note of the date you performed an inspection, the weather, overall hive health, queen status, whether you need to add a second deep or a super and more! By taking notes, you can grow as a beekeeper and truly support your bees by observing what they need to succeed.
Read More
How Taking Notes Can Help Manage Varroa Mites – PerfectBee
Don’t Forget to Take Video of Your First Hives – PerfectBee
Tracking Honeybee Hive Progress And Keeping Records – PerfectBee*
Inspecting and Understanding the Brood Pattern – PerfectBee*
* Colony Member-Only Content
