Hive Inspection Checklist

A thorough inspection is the foundation of good hive management. This checklist walks you through every phase of a hive visit, from gathering your tools at home through closing up and recording notes. Work through each category in order. Check off items as you complete them -- your progress is saved automatically in your browser so you can pick up where you left off if you get interrupted.

Designed to work on your phone in the apiary. Large touch targets for gloved hands, automatic saving between visits, and a print-friendly layout for those who prefer paper.

Before Leaving Home

Details (5 items)
  • Smoker, fuel, and lighter — test that smoker stays lit before driving out
  • Hive tool (J-hook style preferred for Langstroth frame removal)
  • Bee brush or fern frond for gently moving bees
  • Veil and gloves (or plan to go gloveless if comfortable)
  • Spray bottle with light sugar syrup for calming bees without smoke
Details (5 items)
  • Ideal inspection temperature is 60°F or above with light wind
  • Avoid opening hives if rain is expected within the hour
  • Afternoon inspections are best — foragers are out, fewer bees to manage
  • In Salem, watch for canyon winds picking up after 2 PM in spring
  • Check for incoming cold fronts — do not leave hives open in dropping temps
Details (5 items)
  • What was the brood pattern like last time?
  • Were there queen cells or cups noted?
  • Any issues flagged for follow-up (low stores, spotty brood, mites)?
  • Bring a notebook or phone for recording this visit's observations
  • Note how many days since the last inspection to calibrate expectations
Details (5 items)
  • Empty super or frames if colony may need more space
  • Feeder and syrup if colony was light on stores
  • Mite testing kit (alcohol wash jar, alcohol, collection cup) if scheduled
  • Queen marking pen if you plan to find and mark an unmarked queen
  • Extra frames with drawn comb — worth their weight in gold during buildup

Entrance Observations

Details (5 items)
  • Steady stream of bees coming and going indicates a healthy, active colony
  • Very low traffic on a warm day could mean queenlessness or colony decline
  • Frantic, disorganized flight at the entrance may indicate robbing in progress
  • Compare traffic to neighboring hives — a noticeable difference is diagnostic
  • Early morning sluggishness is normal; wait until mid-morning for best assessment
Details (4 items)
  • Young bees face the hive and fly in small expanding arcs — this is normal and healthy
  • Orientation flights typically occur in early-to-mid afternoon
  • Lots of orientation flights indicate a strong population of emerging nurse bees
  • If you see orientation flights from a newly hived package or nuc, the queen is likely accepted
Details (5 items)
  • A few dead bees is normal — undertaker bees remove dead daily
  • Dozens of dead bees with tongues out may suggest pesticide exposure
  • Dead pupae being dragged out can indicate hygienic behavior (good) or disease (investigate)
  • Crawling bees with deformed wings strongly suggest Varroa virus transmission
  • Piles of dead bees after winter may just be normal spring cleanout
Details (4 items)
  • Bees bringing in pollen means there is brood to feed — a strong positive sign
  • Note pollen colors to identify forage sources (yellow dandelion, orange fruit tree, gray clover)
  • No pollen coming in during a flow period may indicate queenlessness
  • Heavy pollen loads in spring confirm colony is in active buildup
Details (5 items)
  • A few bees at the entrance checking arrivals is normal guard behavior
  • Excessive guard activity and wrestling may indicate robbing attempts
  • Calm entrance with bees freely walking in suggests no robbing pressure
  • During a dearth, heightened guard behavior is expected and healthy
  • If robbing is happening, reduce entrance immediately to a single bee width

Brood Nest Assessment

Details (5 items)
  • A solid, compact brood pattern with few empty cells indicates a strong, well-mated queen
  • Scattered or shotgun brood pattern may indicate a failing queen, inbreeding, or disease
  • Look for the characteristic concentric rings: eggs in center, larvae, then capped brood
  • Healthy capped brood should be slightly convex with tan/brown cappings
  • Sunken or perforated cappings are a red flag for American Foulbrood — investigate immediately
Details (5 items)
  • Eggs (tiny white grains standing upright in cell bottoms) confirm the queen was here 0-3 days ago
  • C-shaped larvae in royal jelly confirm active feeding and queen-right status
  • Capped brood takes 12 days to emerge for workers — use this to estimate laying timeline
  • If only capped brood and no eggs or larvae, the queen may have stopped laying or is gone
  • Presence of all three stages (eggs, larvae, capped) is the single best indicator of queen-rightness
Details (5 items)
  • Some empty cells in a brood frame are normal — bees use them for short-term nectar storage
  • A ring of empty polished cells around brood means the queen has room to lay
  • If the brood nest is entirely backfilled with nectar, the queen is being squeezed out — swarm risk
  • Empty cells with no eggs in spring may mean the queen has not ramped up yet
  • Cells that were cleaned out by hygienic bees may appear as scattered empties — check for mite-damaged pupae
Details (5 items)
  • Excellent: 90%+ of cells in the brood area are filled with same-age brood
  • Good: 80-90% filled with minor gaps — acceptable for most production colonies
  • Poor: Less than 70% filled or very scattered — consider requeening
  • Multiple eggs per cell (especially on cell walls) indicates a laying worker, not a queen
  • A newly mated queen may have a small but tight pattern that expands over 2-3 weeks

Queen-Right Signs

Details (5 items)
  • Fresh eggs stand straight up in the cell; older eggs tilt and then lie flat as larvae
  • Finding eggs is better than finding the queen — it confirms she was laying within 3 days
  • Use the sun over your shoulder to illuminate cell bottoms for egg visibility
  • On dark comb, eggs can be very hard to see — a headlamp or flashlight helps enormously
  • If you cannot find eggs, do not panic; look for very small C-shaped larvae as backup evidence
Details (4 items)
  • Small white C-shaped larvae floating in a pool of milky royal jelly confirm active brood rearing
  • Larvae grow rapidly — day-old larvae are tiny; by day 5 they nearly fill the cell
  • Dry larvae without jelly may indicate nutritional stress or nurse bee shortage
  • Larvae should be pearly white; discolored (yellow or brown) larvae may indicate disease
Details (6 items)
  • Look for her on brood frames — she is usually on a frame with eggs or young larvae
  • The queen moves away from light, so check the side of the frame facing the hive body first
  • She has a longer abdomen, moves deliberately, and worker bees make way for her
  • A marked queen is much easier to spot — consider marking her if she is unmarked
  • Do not spend more than a few minutes looking; eggs are sufficient proof she is present
  • In a two-deep setup without an excluder, check both boxes if eggs are not found in the first
Details (5 items)
  • Emergency cells are built on the face of a brood comb, converting a worker larva to a queen
  • Multiple emergency cells across several frames indicates the colony knows it is queenless
  • If you see emergency cells AND eggs, the colony may be superseding (replacing) an aging queen
  • Destroying emergency cells in a queenless colony will doom it — only remove if you are requeening
  • A single emergency cell may be a practice cup; multiple charged cells is the real signal

Brood Pattern Quality

Details (4 items)
  • Frame after frame of wall-to-wall capped brood with very few gaps is the gold standard
  • A solid pattern means the queen is well-mated with good genetics
  • Solid patterns produce large populations that excel at honey production
  • Even great queens show some gaps — cells used for pollen or nectar storage within the brood nest
Details (5 items)
  • Scattered capped cells with many empty cells in between is a spotty pattern
  • Can indicate a poorly mated queen, old queen, or inbreeding
  • May also indicate disease — hygienic bees removing sick larvae creates gaps
  • If spotty pattern persists over 2-3 inspections, plan to requeen
  • A new queen from a nuc or local breeder can transform colony productivity
Details (5 items)
  • A queen occasionally lays two eggs in a cell, especially when ramping up in spring
  • Multiple eggs stuck to cell walls (not centered on the bottom) indicate a laying worker
  • Laying workers develop when a colony has been queenless for 3+ weeks
  • Laying worker colonies produce only drone brood — the colony will dwindle and die without intervention
  • Resolving a laying worker situation requires combining with a queen-right colony or introducing a mated queen with brood
Details (4 items)
  • Bullet-shaped raised cappings in worker cells means drones are being raised in worker comb
  • This is a strong sign of a drone-laying queen or laying workers
  • Normal drone brood is in larger drone-sized cells, usually at frame edges or bottom
  • A queen that only lays unfertilized eggs has run out of sperm — she must be replaced

Food Stores

Details (5 items)
  • Capped honey is fully cured and will not ferment — this is the colony's reliable reserve
  • A full deep frame of honey weighs about 8-10 pounds
  • In a two-deep setup, the colony should always have at least 2-3 frames of capped honey
  • Going into winter in Salem, the colony needs 60-80 pounds of stored honey
  • Honey arching over the brood nest is a good sign of adequate stores
Details (5 items)
  • Pollen is stored near the brood nest — it is essential protein for raising brood
  • Cells packed with colorful pollen (beebread) indicate diverse forage and good nutrition
  • Low pollen stores in spring can limit brood rearing and slow colony buildup
  • Pollen substitute patties can help if natural pollen is scarce, but real pollen is always better
  • Multiple colors of pollen mean bees are foraging on diverse plant sources — a healthy sign
Details (5 items)
  • Uncapped cells with a glossy liquid shimmer contain fresh, uncured nectar
  • Nectar shimmer near the brood nest is normal; nectar backfilling the brood nest is a swarm signal
  • During a strong flow, supers should have visible fresh nectar being deposited
  • If supers are filling with nectar but none is capped, bees are still curing it — give them time
  • Nectar in the brood chamber during dearth is a sign bees are consuming reserves, not bringing in new
Details (5 items)
  • Tilt the back of the hive gently — a heavy hive tips reluctantly
  • With practice you can tell the difference between 40 and 80 pounds of stores by feel
  • Check weight monthly in winter to monitor consumption without opening the hive
  • A hive that suddenly feels light needs immediate feeding (fondant in winter, syrup in other seasons)
  • Keep a log of weight estimates to track consumption over time

Space and Congestion

Details (5 items)
  • If every frame is covered with bees and there are bees on the inner cover, the colony needs space
  • Bees packed tightly between frames with no room to work triggers swarm impulse
  • In a no-excluder setup, add supers before the top box is 70-80% full of bees
  • If the top deep is wall-to-wall bees and brood, add a super immediately regardless of calendar date
  • Always err on the side of adding space too early rather than too late
Details (5 items)
  • Bees filling brood cells with nectar instead of leaving them for the queen is a strong swarm indicator
  • This squeezes the queen's laying space and the colony interprets it as "no more room"
  • Adding supers with drawn comb gives bees an outlet for nectar storage and relieves pressure
  • If backfilling is happening, check for queen cells immediately
  • Opening the brood nest by inserting an empty drawn frame in the center can provide temporary relief
Details (4 items)
  • Bright white wax on frame tops and between boxes means a strong nectar flow is on
  • White wax burr comb between frames indicates bees have excess wax and energy — they need more space
  • During a flow, white wax production is normal and positive — just manage the space
  • If you see white wax and have not yet added supers, you are behind schedule
Details (4 items)
  • Bees linking legs in chains between frames (festooning) are building wax or measuring comb spacing
  • Festooning during a flow is normal and indicates active construction
  • Extensive festooning with no available comb to build on suggests the colony needs drawn frames or foundation
  • Festooning combined with other swarm signs (queen cells, congestion) increases urgency to act

Swarm Indicators

Details (5 items)
  • Small acorn-shaped wax cups on frame bottoms are "practice cups" — common and usually not alarming
  • Bees build and tear down queen cups all season as a contingency measure
  • Cups become concerning only when they contain an egg or larva (then they are "charged")
  • Check every queen cup by looking inside — an empty cup is low priority
  • Queen cups on the face of comb (not the bottom) are more likely emergency or supersedure cells
Details (5 items)
  • A charged cell contains a larva floating in royal jelly — the colony is actively raising a new queen
  • Multiple charged cells on frame bottoms strongly indicate swarm preparation
  • Once cells are charged, the colony has been planning to swarm for at least several days
  • Simply removing charged cells rarely stops swarming — the impulse is systemic
  • If you find charged cells, consider splitting the colony or implementing another swarm management strategy
Details (5 items)
  • A capped queen cell with a textured peanut-shell surface means a virgin queen is developing inside
  • The swarm typically leaves on a warm day shortly after the first queen cell is capped
  • If you find capped cells and reduced bee population, the swarm may have already left
  • Capped queen cells take about 8 days from capping to emergence
  • If splitting, use frames with capped queen cells in the queenless split for fastest queen establishment
Details (4 items)
  • Workers slim the queen down before swarming so she can fly — she stops or reduces laying
  • If a previously prolific queen suddenly has a small brood nest, check for queen cells
  • Reduced laying combined with congestion and queen cells is the classic pre-swarm triad
  • The queen may be harder to find because workers are restricting her feeding

Drone Brood Assessment

Details (4 items)
  • Normal drone brood is found at frame edges, bottom corners, and on dedicated drone comb
  • Drone brood in the center of worker frames suggests the queen is running out of sperm
  • Some drone brood is natural and healthy — drones are needed for mating with virgin queens
  • Colonies typically raise drones from March through September
Details (5 items)
  • 5-15% drone brood is normal for a healthy colony during drone season
  • More than 20% drone brood may indicate the colony is investing too heavily in reproduction
  • Excessive drone brood combined with swarm cells suggests strong reproductive drive
  • Zero drone brood in May-June is unusual and may indicate colony stress
  • Drone brood also serves as Varroa mite traps — mites preferentially infest drone cells
Details (5 items)
  • First drone brood in Salem typically appears in late March to early April
  • Peak drone production coincides with swarm season (April-May)
  • Colonies evict drones in fall as they prepare for winter — this is normal and expected
  • Seeing drones being dragged out of the hive in September-October is healthy colony behavior
  • Drones present in late fall may indicate a queenless colony that is not preparing for winter properly

Disease and Pest Scan

Details (5 items)
  • White or gray mummified larvae in cells or at the entrance indicate chalkbrood fungal infection
  • Chalkbrood is stress-related and often appears in spring when colonies are growing but nights are cold
  • Mild chalkbrood usually resolves as the colony grows and warms up
  • Persistent chalkbrood may indicate poor ventilation, weak colony genetics, or excessive moisture
  • Requeening with hygienic stock can eliminate chronic chalkbrood problems
Details (6 items)
  • American Foulbrood (AFB) produces a distinctive rotten or sour smell
  • Sunken, greasy, or perforated cappings on brood cells are visual indicators
  • The rope test: poke a toothpick into a suspect cell; if the contents stretch out in a ropy string, it is likely AFB
  • AFB is a reportable disease in Utah — contact the state apiarist if confirmed
  • Infected equipment must be burned — AFB spores survive for decades and will reinfect
  • European Foulbrood (EFB) shows twisted, discolored larvae but is less serious and can resolve with requeening
Details (5 items)
  • Bees with crumpled, stunted, or vestigial wings are showing Deformed Wing Virus symptoms
  • DWV is transmitted by Varroa mites — its presence confirms high mite load
  • Even a few DWV bees at the entrance means mite levels are critical and treatment is urgent
  • Colonies with visible DWV may not survive winter without immediate mite treatment
  • Monitor for DWV year-round but especially August through October when mite populations peak
Details (5 items)
  • Small, dark, fast-moving beetles on the inner cover or frame tops are small hive beetles (SHB)
  • SHB are less problematic in Utah's dry climate than in humid southeastern states
  • Strong colonies typically control SHB by corralling them; weak colonies get overwhelmed
  • SHB larvae create a slimy mess that ferments honey and ruins comb
  • Traps (oil traps between frames) can help manage SHB in problem hives
Details (5 items)
  • Silky webbing tunneled through comb indicates wax moth larvae infestation
  • Wax moths primarily attack stored comb and weak colonies — strong colonies keep them out
  • Store unused supers with good airflow or freeze frames to kill moth eggs
  • If wax moth has destroyed comb, the frames can be scraped clean and reused with new foundation
  • Greater wax moth larvae are large cream-colored caterpillars; lesser wax moth are much smaller

Mite Monitoring

Details (5 items)
  • Look for reddish-brown oval mites on the thorax or abdomen of adult bees
  • Phoretic mites (on adult bees) represent only a fraction of the total mite population in the hive
  • If you can easily spot mites on bees, the infestation is already severe
  • Check drone brood by uncapping with a fork — mites preferentially infest drone cells
  • Visual checks are not reliable for quantifying mite load — always follow up with a wash or roll
Details (6 items)
  • Test every colony individually — mite levels vary hugely between hives in the same apiary
  • Alcohol wash is the gold standard: collect 300 bees (half cup) from a brood frame, wash in alcohol
  • Sugar roll is a non-lethal alternative but slightly less accurate
  • Test at least 3 times per year: spring (April), mid-summer (June-July), and late summer (August)
  • Record results in a log to track mite population trends over time
  • Treatment thresholds vary by season — see the mite monitoring schedule for current guidelines
Details (5 items)
  • Sticky boards placed under a screened bottom board capture naturally falling mites over 24-72 hours
  • Count mites on the board and divide by number of days to get daily mite drop
  • Sticky boards underestimate true mite load but can show trends over time
  • More useful as a monitoring tool between washes than as a primary diagnostic
  • Grease the board with cooking spray or petroleum jelly to trap mites effectively

Closing Up

Details (6 items)
  • Replace frames in the same order and orientation they were in — bees build comb to specific spacing
  • Ensure frame spacing is correct and frames are pushed together with normal bee space
  • Make sure boxes are aligned and sitting flat with no gaps for robber bees or weather
  • Replace the inner cover and outer cover, ensuring ventilation notch is positioned correctly
  • In a no-excluder setup, be extra careful not to roll the queen when sliding boxes back together
  • If the queen was spotted in the upper box, consider waiting a moment for her to move before reassembly
Details (5 items)
  • Small entrance for weak colonies, new packages, or during robbing season
  • Medium or full entrance for strong colonies during a nectar flow
  • Reduce entrance immediately if you see signs of robbing
  • In Salem's hot July-August, strong colonies may need the full entrance open for ventilation
  • Mouse guards (metal reducers with small holes) go on in October and stay on through March
Details (7 items)
  • Note queen status (seen, eggs found, or not confirmed)
  • Record brood pattern quality and approximate number of frames of brood
  • Log food stores estimate (frames of honey, pollen status)
  • Note any queen cells, disease signs, or pest observations
  • Record what action you took (added super, fed, etc.) and what to check next time
  • Date your notes — the time between inspections matters for interpreting changes
  • A simple rating system (strong/average/weak) helps you prioritize which hives need attention

Quick Reference

Keep these key indicators in mind during every inspection. They summarize the most important things to look for and when to escalate.

Queen-Right Indicators

  • Eggs present -- tiny white grains standing upright in cell bottoms confirm the queen was laying within the last 3 days
  • Young larvae visible -- small C-shaped larvae floating in royal jelly indicate active brood rearing
  • Calm, organized behavior -- bees working purposefully without the roaring hum that accompanies queenlessness
  • No emergency queen cells -- absence of multiple queen cells on the face of brood comb is a good sign
  • Steady pollen intake -- foragers returning with pollen loads confirms there is brood to feed

Warning Signs to Act On

  • No eggs for more than 2 weeks -- the colony may be queenless or the queen may have stopped laying
  • Charged queen cells -- cells containing larvae in royal jelly mean swarm preparations are underway; act immediately
  • Spotty brood pattern -- scattered, inconsistent brood over multiple inspections suggests a failing queen or disease
  • Foul smell from the hive -- a sour or rotting odor may indicate American Foulbrood; perform the rope test immediately
  • Deformed wings on adult bees -- crumpled or stunted wings confirm Deformed Wing Virus transmitted by Varroa mites; mite treatment is urgent
  • Rapid population decline -- a colony that seems significantly weaker than your last visit may have swarmed or be collapsing

When to Call for Help

  • Suspected American Foulbrood (AFB) -- sunken, greasy cappings with a ropy pull test. AFB is a reportable disease in Utah. Contact the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food or the state apiarist. Infected equipment must be burned.
  • Queenless for more than 3 weeks -- if the colony has no eggs, no larvae, and no viable queen cells after 3 weeks, laying workers may develop. Combining with a queen-right colony or introducing a mated queen requires experienced guidance.
  • Colony collapse signs -- rapid adult bee loss with plenty of brood and food remaining, dead bees with tongues extended (possible pesticide exposure), or sudden disappearance of the adult population. Contact your local beekeeping club or USU Extension for support.

Your local beekeeping association and USU Extension are excellent resources. Do not hesitate to reach out -- experienced beekeepers expect these questions and are happy to help.

Educational tool only. Follow product labels and consult your local beekeeping association for guidance.