Hive Inspection Record Card

What this sheet is for

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.

Who it is for

First and second year beekeepers with one to four hives, association apiary managers, and anyone keeping bees at a site they visit weekly.

How to use it

1. Use one card per colony, not one per apiary — the comparison only works down a single column of visits.
2. Fill the header in once: apiary, hive ID, hive type and the queen's year and mark.
3. Write a line at the hive, however short. An entry of five words beats an entry written up from memory that evening.
4. Always complete the last column. Next week's visit starts by reading it.

What is on the sheet

The layout is fixed at a size that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the A4 and Letter files are visually identical and print at full size on either. Rows are set at a height that an adult can actually write a date and a few words into with a pen — most printable tables are built in a word processor and never tested with one.

Questions

Why are no varroa thresholds or treatments printed on it?

Because what may be used in a hive, when, and what has to be reported differs by country and region, and it changes. Your association and the authority responsible for bee health where you keep bees are the right source; the card records the count you took, the method you used and what you did about it.

What should go in the brood pattern column?

Whatever description you will still understand in a month — solid, patchy, spotty, arcs. Consistency matters far more than vocabulary here, because the column is only useful when this week's word can be set against last week's.

Should I record a visit where I did not open the hive?

Yes, and say so. A line reading 'too cold, watched the entrance, heavy traffic' is real information, and a gap in the dates is the thing that makes the rest of the card hard to read later.