Swarm and Queen Cell Record
Keep a season's swarming history in one place, so a colony that throws cells every year is visible as a pattern rather than remembered as a bad week.
BK-06 1 page
Beekeeping · BK-17
Swarm Collection Call-Out Log
A free printable swarm call log for collectors: every call from the public with the questions to ask, then each swarm collected, where it was hived and follow-up.
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2 pages. 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
Keep every swarm call in one place, including the ones that turn out to be bumblebees. The log shows which calls were worth the trip, where each swarm went, and who the rest were passed to.
Who it is for
Swarm collectors, association swarm coordinators and any beekeeper whose number is given out to the public in swarm season.
How to use it
- Keep the sheet by the phone in swarm season and fill in a line for every call, whatever it turns out to be.
- Work through the questions for the caller, and ask for a photo before deciding to go.
- For each call you go to, fill in a line under Collections with the same call number.
- Write down where each swarm was hived, and use the follow-up column for the visit after.
- Keep the contacts you pass calls on to at the foot of page two.
What is on the sheet
2 pages, in this order:
Page 1
Printed under the title: Every swarm call from the public in one log: who rang, where the cluster is and whether it is honey bees, then for the calls you went to, what you found and where the bees ended up.
Honey bees only, on your own terms. Ask for a photo before you set out: bumblebees, wasps and solitary bees are not swarms, and those calls are passed on or left alone. What you will climb, whether you take a donation and what insurance you hold are your own or your association's arrangements, so none are printed here.
Write-on lines: Collector · Phone given out · Area covered · Season or year
Ask the caller — before you set out
- Can you send a photo of the bees?
- How high up is it, and on what?
- How long has it been there?
- Out in the open, or going into a wall or chimney?
- Whose land is it, and can you get me access?
- Are people, children or animals close by?
Calls taken — every call, including the ones that are not honey bees
Table, 13 rows: Call no. · Date · Time · Caller · Phone · Address · Position · Insect · Outcome
Page 2
Collections — the calls you went to, by call number
Table, 8 rows: Call no. · Arrived · Size · Collected · Hived at · Hive no. · Time & travel · Donation · Follow-up
Calls passed on to — other collectors and contacts, for calls you cannot take
Table, 3 rows: Name · Covers · Phone · Takes
Questions
Why ask for a photo before going?
Because many swarm calls turn out to be bumblebees, wasps or solitary bees, which a honey bee collector does not deal with. A photo usually settles it in a minute and saves a wasted trip, and the insect column keeps a record of what each call really was.
Does the sheet say what to charge?
No. Whether you ask for a donation, charge for travel or take nothing at all is your own or your association's arrangement. The donation column records what was given, not what should be.
How is this different from the Swarm and Queen Cell Record?
That sheet follows your own colonies: the queen cells you found and the swarms your hives sent out. This one is for swarms other people find and ring about, which come with a caller, an address and a trip.
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Apiary and Hive Register
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BK-02 1 page
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.
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Hive Inspection Record Card
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