Livestock and smallholding · LK-42

Apiary Queen and Colony Register

A free printable queen record — origin, introduction date, marking colour, temperament, swarming and requeening, hive by hive.

First page of the 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.
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

Keep track of queen age and origin across an apiary, which explains most of what a colony does and is almost never written down.

Who it is for

Beekeepers with more than one hive, and anyone rearing their own queens.

How to use it

  1. Record the queen's origin and the date she was introduced.
  2. Note the marking colour — it is the fastest way to read her age at an inspection.
  3. Record temperament honestly; it is a legitimate reason to requeen.
  4. Count colonies in and out of winter. That figure is the year's real result.

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

How often should I requeen?

No interval is printed. It depends on your bees, your climate and whether you keep them for honey, increase or temperament. Your association and your own records are better guides than any general rule.

Related sheets

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

Breeding and Bloodline Record

Hold a pedigree on paper so breeding decisions and registrations can be made without reconstructing three years of matings from memory.

LK-31 1 page