6. Inspections

An inspection record captures everything you observe when you open a hive. Record inspections as soon as possible after working the hive — the more detail you capture, the more useful your historical data becomes.

6.1 Starting an Inspection

1. Open a hive.
2. Tap the + button in the Inspections tab.
3. The Pre-Inspection Briefing appears first (see Section 6.2).
4. Review the briefing, then tap Continue to begin the inspection form.
5. Fill in the fields as you observe the colony.
6. Tap Save when done.

6.2 Pre-Inspection Briefing

The briefing appears each time you start a new inspection. It shows:

• A summary of your last inspection — date, health rating, and key findings.
• Smart alerts for anything that needs follow-up, such as swarm cells spotted last time, low stores, queen not seen, or a pending mite retest.
• The most recent mite wash result and its color-coded status.

Read the briefing before opening the hive so you know what to look for. Tap Continue when ready.

6.3 Health & Colony Observations

Today's Inspection Focus

A free-text field at the top of the form. Write your plan before opening the hive — for example: 'Check queen, assess stores, look for swarm preparations.' This is saved with the inspection record and displayed on the detail view.

Date and Weather

The date defaults to today. Tap it to change. Enter the weather conditions — this helps explain unusual findings when reviewing historical data.

Overall Health Rating

Hive Entry Activity

Record the level of activity at the hive entrance before you open it.

Frames of Covered Bees

The number of frames that have a full covering of bees on both sides. This is a measure of colony population strength. A full-size colony in peak summer should cover 8–12+ frames.

Frames of Capped Brood

The number of frames containing sealed (capped) worker brood. Strong colonies in spring and summer typically have 6–10+ frames. Together with covered bees, this helps you decide when to add a super, split, or check winter readiness.

Stores

Record how much honey and pollen the colony has in reserve. Options typically range from None to Abundant. Low stores in late summer or autumn mean the colony may need feeding before winter.

Brood Pattern

Describe the brood pattern — Solid, Spotty, or No Brood. A solid pattern indicates a productive, healthy queen. A spotty pattern may suggest disease, a failing queen, or chalkbrood.

Queen Cells & Swarm Cells

Record whether you saw queen cells and whether they appeared to be swarm cells (bottom of frames) or supersedure cells (middle of frames).

Notes

A free-text field for anything else worth recording.

• Voice dictation: on iPhone and Android, tap the microphone icon on the Notes or Today's Focus field and speak. The text appends automatically when you stop. Useful when both hands are occupied in the hive.
• Screen stay-on: the inspection form automatically keeps the screen awake for 15 minutes from your last tap, so it will not lock mid-inspection. For longer sessions or if you walk between hives, enable Keep Screen Awake in Account Settings (see Section 15).

6.4 Mite Wash

A mite wash counts the number of Varroa mites in a sample of adult bees. It is the most reliable way to monitor infestation levels in your hive. Two methods work well: an alcohol wash, which kills the bees but gives a slightly higher mite release, and a soapy water wash, which is a good alternative when alcohol is unavailable.

Collecting your sample (both methods)

1. Locate a brood frame — the brood area has the highest mite load, so this gives the most accurate reading.
2. Shake or brush approximately 300 bees (roughly ½ cup) into a wide-mouth jar. Try to avoid collecting the queen.
3. Seal the jar and proceed with your chosen method below.

Alcohol Wash

4. Add enough 70% isopropyl alcohol or denatured alcohol to fully submerge the bees.
5. Roll and swirl the jar for 1–2 minutes.
6. Pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer into a shallow white tray.
7. Count the mites visible in the tray.

Soapy Water Wash

8. Mix 2 tablespoons of a high-suds dish soap (such as Dawn Ultra) per gallon of cool water. Do not use automatic dishwasher detergent — it does not release mites effectively.
9. Add enough solution to fully submerge the bees.
10. Roll and swirl the jar for 1–2 minutes.
11. Pour the liquid through a fine mesh strainer into a shallow white tray.
12. Count the mites. Foam can make them harder to see from above — try lifting the strainer and looking up from below if needed.

Recording in the app

13. Toggle Mite Wash Performed on the inspection form.
14. Enter the number of mites counted.
15. Enter the number of bees sampled.
16. Select where the sample was taken from: Brood Area, Outer Frame, or Honey Super. Use Brood Area for the most accurate result.
17. Optionally tick any conditions that may affect accuracy — recent treatment, brood break, or recently split colony.

The app calculates the infestation percentage and color-codes the result:

6.5 Pin-Kill (Hygienic Behavior) Test

The pin-kill test measures how quickly your colony detects and removes dead or diseased brood. This trait — hygienic behavior — is strongly linked to Varroa resistance. Colonies that remove dead brood quickly also tend to remove mite-infested pupae.

How to run the test

1. Identify a patch of capped worker brood approximately 100 cells in size.
2. Use a pin or entomology pin to kill each pupa in the patch (push the pin through the capping into the pupa). Count the cells as you go.
3. Mark the area with a thumbtack or tape to find it again.
4. Return after 6 hours. Count how many cells workers have fully uncapped and removed.
5. Return again at 24 hours and count again.

Recording in the app

6. Toggle Pin-Kill Test Performed.
7. Enter the number of cells killed (total cells in the patch).
8. Enter cells removed at 6 hours and cells removed at 24 hours.

The app calculates the cleaning percentage for each timepoint. Colonies that clean 80% or more by 24 hours are considered highly hygienic. The 6-hour reading is valuable for identifying VSH candidates — those that begin removing infested brood within hours.

6.6 UBeeO Pheromone Test

The UBeeO test uses a synthetic pheromone spray — not freeze-killing — to trigger hygienic behavior. It is a non-destructive alternative to the pin-kill method and measures a complementary but distinct response: pheromone-triggered uncapping.

How to run the test

1. Mark a section of capped brood containing at least 50 cells.
2. Spray the UBeeO mixture evenly over the marked area.
3. Return after exactly 2 hours.
4. Count the cells workers have uncapped.

Recording in the app

5. Toggle UBeeO Test Performed.
6. Enter the total capped cells in the sprayed area.
7. Enter the number of cells uncapped at 2 hours.

The UBeeO result contributes to the 7th trait on the Queen Score Card. The pheromone product is available from opterabees.com.

6.7 Treatments During Inspection

If you apply a treatment during or immediately after an inspection, you can record it directly on the inspection form in the Treatment Applied section. The treatment is automatically added to the hive's Treatments tab — you do not need to enter it again. If you later edit or delete the inspection, the linked treatment record updates or removes accordingly.