Hive Inspection Record Card
Build a run of comparable inspections for one colony, so a failing hive can be told apart from a normal one by looking at the page rather than by memory.
BK-01 1 page
Beekeeping · BK-02
Apiary and Hive Register
A free printable apiary and hive register — one line per hive for number, site, hive type, frame size, where the colony came from, queen source and the date it was established.
Download Free · no sign-up
One page. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
Give every hive a number and a description that stays fixed, so inspection cards, treatment records and feeding logs all point at the same thing.
Who it is for
Beekeepers with more than one hive, association apiary managers, and anyone keeping bees across more than one site.
How to use it
- Number your hives and keep the numbering stable, even when a colony is replaced.
- Fill in one line per hive: site, type, frame size, where the colony came from.
- Record the queen's source on the same line, so the hive and its stock read together.
- Add a line when a hive is brought into use, and note in the last column when one goes out of use rather than rubbing it out.
What is on the sheet
One page, top to bottom:
Printed under the title: Every hive identified once — number, site, type, frame size, where the colony came from and when it was established — so the rest of your records have something to refer to.
Write each hive in once. This is the index, not a log. Write a hive in once and it stays written in; the inspections, feeding and treatments belong on their own sheets and refer back to the hive number you set here. Give every hive a number that will outlast the colony living in it.
Write-on lines: Beekeeper · Apiary sites covered · Register started
Hives — one line per hive — keep the numbering stable year to year
Table, 12 rows: Hive no. · Apiary or site · Hive type · Frame size · Colony origin · Queen source · Established · Notes
Questions
Why number the hive rather than the colony?
Because colonies come and go and the box stays. If the number follows the woodwork, a run of records for that position still makes sense after a colony dies out or is replaced, and you can see how that spot has performed over years.
Does this replace the inspection card?
No. The register is the index: written once per hive and rarely changed. The inspection card is the running comparison, one per colony, written at every visit.
Related sheets
Queen Record and Marking Sheet
Keep track of which queen is in which hive and how long she has been there, so temperament and laying can be read against her age and her origin.
BK-03 1 page
Apiary Visit and Weather Log
Keep the thread of visits unbroken, including the short ones, so the dates on the inspection cards sit inside a record of what the season was actually like.
BK-08 1 page
Apiary Queen and Colony Register
Keep track of queen age and origin across an apiary, which explains most of what a colony does and is almost never written down.
LK-42 1 page
