7. Queen Management

Bee Inspector tracks queens as individual records linked to a hive. You can record a queen's origin, color marking, laying status, VSH test results, and lineage — and the app builds a score card from the data it collects across inspections.

7.1 Adding a Queen

Two routes to add a queen:

From the hive detail screen: open the Queen tab, tap +.
From the Queens screen (main navigation): tap +, then pick apiary and hive from the two-step picker.

Fields on the queen record:

Field	What to enter
Queen name / ID	A label for this queen — e.g. "2024 Blue" or "Q-07".
Color marking	The international color marking system uses a five-year cycle: White (years ending 1 or 6), Yellow (2 or 7), Red (3 or 8), Green (4 or 9), Blue (5 or 0).
Introduction date	When the queen started laying in this hive.
Marked	Toggle on if you have marked the queen with paint or a marking pen.
Clipped	Toggle on if you have clipped one wing to prevent swarming.
Grafting Candidate	Toggle on to flag this queen for a queen-rearing program.
Harbo Score (0–4)	Enter after performing a brood inspection for VSH. See Section 7.4.
VSH Worker Score (0–4)	Enter after assessing the queen's worker offspring for VSH. See Section 7.4.
Lineage (Origin Method)	How this queen came to be in the hive. See Section 7.5.

7.2 Queen Score Card

The score card rates the queen across up to eight traits. Each trait scores 1–5. The overall score is calculated only from traits that have recorded data — traits with no data are excluded rather than scoring zero. The card updates live as you add inspections, mite washes, or treatments.

Trait	Data source	Notes
1. Brood Pattern	Inspection form — Brood Pattern field	Solid = 5, Good = 4, Fair = 3, Spotty = 2, Poor = 1.
2. Temperament	Inspection form — Temperament field	Rates the colony's behavior when opened. Calm = 5; aggressive = 1.
3. Honey Production	Harvest records	Compares harvest weight to the seasonal average across your hives.
4. Mite Wash Results	Mite wash data from inspections	<1% mite rate = 5 stars; 4%+ = 1 star. Averaged across all recorded washes.
5. Pin-Kill Score	Pin-kill test data from inspections	80%+ removed at 24h = 5 stars. Lower cleaning rates score lower.
6. UBeeO Score	UBeeO test data from inspections	See Section 6.6.
7. Harbo/VSH Score	Harbo Score field on queen record	Directly maps: Score 4 = 5 stars down to Score 0 = 1 star.
8. Treatment-Free Mite Resistance	Treatment records + mite wash data	If any Varroa treatment recorded = N/A. Otherwise scored on average mite wash counts.

Tap the score card header on the queen detail screen to expand and see individual trait scores. Collapsed by default to keep the screen clean.

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Note: Treatment-Free Mite Resistance (trait 8) shows N/A if any Varroa-targeted treatment has been recorded for the hive. This applies whether the treatment was entered on the Treatments tab or via an inspection form. The trait is excluded from the overall score — it does not count against the queen.

7.3 Laying Status & Observation History

Every inspection can include a Queen Laying Status observation. These are recorded on the inspection form under the Queen section.

Laying Status	When to use
Laying	Queen seen actively laying, or eggs/young larvae observed confirming recent laying.
Present – not confirmed	Queen was seen but you could not verify active laying.
Not seen	Queen was not found during the inspection. Does not mean she is absent.
Superseded	Colony has replaced the queen naturally. Old queen may still be present briefly.
Swarmed	Colony has issued a swarm. Queen may have departed.
Failed	Queen is no longer productive — drone-laying or absence confirmed.

The most recent status shows on the queen card and the hive overview. The full history of observations is visible in the Observation History section on the hive detail screen.

7.4 Harbo Score & VSH Worker Score

Harbo Score (0–4)

The Harbo Score rates a queen's Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VSH) potential based on brood inspection, following the method developed by Dr. John Harbo at the USDA Baton Rouge laboratory. To score, open 100 capped worker pupae aged 50–80 days after queen introduction and count any reproductive mites found inside.

In the app, enable the Harbo Score toggle on the queen record, then enter the number of reproductive mites found and the number of cells you inspected. The app calculates the percentage and sets the score automatically. The score slider stays editable if you want to adjust it manually.

Score	Reproductive mites %	Interpretation
4	0%	Exceptional — no reproductive mites found; strong VSH candidate.
3	> 0% to ≤ 5%	Good response — very few reproductive mites.
2	> 5% to ≤ 15%	Moderate response.
1	> 15% to ≤ 25%	Minimal response.
0	> 25%	No hygienic response — reproductive mites found in most cells.

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Note: You can also record the date of the assessment using the Harbo Scored Date field. Both the raw counts and the date are included in CSV exports.

VSH Worker Score (0–4)

The VSH Worker Score captures hygienic behavior measured from the queen's worker offspring — separately from the Harbo brood inspection. Assess it after the colony has had at least 7 weeks to express the trait through their workers.

The Raw Sample Data field records mite counts in the format R,NR,NV/N — where R is reproductive mites, NR is non-reproductive mites, NV is non-viable mites, and N is the total cells inspected (e.g. "0,2,1/100"). This preserves the full dataset for breeding records. You can also record the date the assessment was performed using the VSH Scored Date field.

7.5 Queen Lineage & Mother Queen

The Lineage section on the queen record tracks how each queen came to be in your hive and who her mother was. This is particularly useful for breeders running a VSH or hygienic behavior selection program across multiple generations.

Origin Method

Origin Method	When to use
Emergency (Donor Frame)	Bees raised a queen from eggs or young larvae provided on a donated frame from another hive.
Queen Cell Transfer	A capped queen cell was moved from another hive into this one.
Grafted	Raised via a grafting program — larvae were grafted into queen cups.
Purchased	Bought from a supplier, breeder, or nucleus seller.
Swarm	Came with a captured swarm. Mother queen's identity is typically unknown.
Hive Split	Emerged from existing brood when the colony was split.
Unknown	Origin not recorded.

Linking to a Mother Queen

When the Origin Method is Emergency, Queen Cell Transfer, Grafted, or Hive Split, a Mother Queen field appears. Tap it to search your queen list and select the queen whose eggs or larvae were used to raise this one. The mother queen's name and source hive appear on the daughter queen's detail card and in the queen list, letting you trace genetic lines across generations.

7.6 Grafting Candidate Flag

Toggle Grafting Candidate on any queen record to flag her as a potential breeder. Grafting Candidate queens are highlighted with a badge in the Queen list. They also appear as selectable breeder queens in the companion Queen Grafting app.

Use this flag when a queen meets your criteria — typically based on Harbo Score, VSH Worker Score, low mite counts, good temperament, and hygienic behavior test results.