Hive inspection checklist generator
Generate simple, focused hive inspection checklists based on season, experience level and inspection goal.
Tell us about this visit
Stop walking to your hives with a vague idea of “having a look”. This tool builds a focused inspection checklist for your next visit, based on the season, your goal and your experience level.
Tell us about this visit
Season / time of year
Choose the option that best matches the current stage of your season:
- Early spring
- Late spring
- Summer / main flow
- Late summer / dearth
- Autumn / pre-winter
- Mid-winter (if inspections are possible in your area)
Inspection goal (pick up to two)
- Routine health check
- Spring build-up check
- Pre-honey flow check
- Honey harvest / super removal
- Swarm risk check
- Pre-winter check
- Problem check (weak hive, queen issues, strange behaviour)
Your experience level
- Complete beginner
- Some experience
- Confident hobbyist
We’ll adjust how long and detailed your checklist is based on this.
Optional: how much can you do today?
These fields are optional, but help us keep your checklist realistic.
Number of hives to inspect
How many colonies do you plan to look at this visit?
Time available
- Less than 1 hour
- 1–2 hours
- 2–4 hours
- Most of the day
If you have many hives and little time, we’ll keep the checklist short and focused on critical points.
Your inspection checklist
You’ll get a simple, action-focused list for this visit, grouped into three parts:
Before you start
2–4 items to prepare:
- tools and protective gear,
- smoker and fuel,
- any specific equipment you might need based on your goal (e.g. extra frames, supers, feed, queen cage).
On each hive
5–12 items, depending on experience and time. Examples:
- Check for signs that the colony is queenright.
- Look at a sample of brood frames for pattern and any unusual cells.
- Estimate food stores and whether bees have enough space.
- Watch for obvious disease signs or unusual odours.
- Note any queen cells, swarm cells or excessive congestion.
Beginner checklists keep language simple and avoid unnecessary jargon. More advanced checklists may include extra points like comb age, queen age and more nuanced brood assessments.
After inspection
2–4 items, such as:
- Write down brief notes for each hive (even just 1–2 lines).
- Plan follow-up actions (feed, add boxes, requeen, monitor varroa, etc.).
- Clean tools and check if any equipment needs repair before the next visit.
Print or copy your checklist
You can:
- open a print-friendly view that fits on one page,
- optionally include space for notes under each item,
- or simply copy the checklist text and paste it into your own notes app.
How to use this checklist
This checklist is meant to help you:
- stay focused in the apiary,
- avoid forgetting important checks in a rush,
- gradually build a consistent inspection routine.
It is not an exam – you don’t have to tick every box every time. If you’re short on time, focus on the critical items: queenright status, brood pattern, food and obvious disease signs.
Over time you may find you prefer your own variant. That’s perfect – use this as a starting point and adjust it to your bees, your region and your way of working.
FAQ
Can I use the same checklist every time?
You can, but it’s usually better to adjust the checklist to the season and your goal. A pre-winter check should look different from a spring build-up check.
How detailed should inspections be for beginners?
As a beginner, it’s more important to build a regular habit and learn to recognise normal brood and bee behaviour. Long, extremely detailed checklists can be overwhelming. That’s why we keep your list shorter and clearer at first.
What if I don’t understand a term in the checklist?
We try to keep language simple. If a term is more technical (for example “capped brood” or “drone comb”), we’ll add a short explanation or link to an article.
Can I use this for large commercial apiaries?
You can take ideas from it, but the tool is designed for 0–50 hive operations. Larger outfits usually have their own standard operating procedures.
Related tools & resources
- First-Year Season Planner – see where inspections fit into your overall first-year plan.
- Varroa Monitoring & Threshold Helper – add specific varroa checks to your inspection routine.
- Apiary Visit Packing List Generator – make sure you don’t forget key tools and equipment.
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