Beehive inspection

Opening the hive

For any beekeeper, novice or experienced, opening a beehive creates in most cases some magic and is very enjoyable. The slower pace that needs to be adopted when around bees transitions the beekeeper into a much more relaxed space. But while opening the hive helps the beekeeper relax from the stress of daily modern life, it has the opposite effect on the bees. An intrusion into their home raises their stress level, and every time the hive is closed again they need hours — sometimes days — to recover. This does not help the bees’ health or productivity.

Imagine someone came to your house and searched through it, emptying wardrobes, drawers and shelves, took some of your belongings away, then left you to clean up the mess. Once you’d settled in and everything was back to normal, they came again for a new search — week after week. That is a hive inspection from the bees’ point of view. Inspect with purpose, and no more often than you need to.

Be clear about the purpose

Once you’ve decided it’s necessary to open the hive, being clear about why lets you focus on what you came to look for — otherwise the odds are high you’ll get side-tracked by what you see and forget your purpose. It’s so easy to get absorbed in the magic; it’s a little like getting lost in an interesting phone call while driving. The reasons for opening a hive vary, so all or only some of the checks below will apply. Decide what you’re looking for before you start.

Frame inspection — the detail

This is where you read the state of the colony in detail. Work calmly and methodically, one frame at a time, and always return frames in the same order and orientation as you found them.

• F1 · Presence of the queen. Look for the queen — larger, with a longer abdomen, and easier to spot if marked. If you can’t find her, look for evidence: freshly laid eggs (tiny white grains standing upright in cells), young larvae in a consistent pattern, and a calm colony.
• F2 · Eggs and young brood. Fresh eggs confirm the queen was present within the last three days; eggs like thin grains of rice standing upright are under 24 hours old. One of the most important checks — no eggs is an early sign of queenlessness.
• F3 · Brood pattern. A healthy pattern is compact and consistent, most cells filled with brood at the same stage. A scattered, irregular pattern may mean disease, a failing queen, or laying workers.
• F4 · Capped brood. Healthy capped worker brood has slightly domed, uniform cappings in a warm tan or biscuit colour. Sunken, perforated or discoloured cappings can indicate disease (American foulbrood, sacbrood) and must be investigated. Nibbled or opened cappings can have more than one cause: bees will uncap brood they can no longer feed (a sign of starvation), but they also uncap and remove pupae infested with Varroa or disease — a beneficial hygienic trait. A line of opened cappings can also be wax moth larvae tunnelling just under the surface. Read it alongside the colony’s food stores and mite levels rather than as a single diagnosis.
• F5 · Food stores. Check the colony has adequate honey and pollen. Frames of capped honey arched around the brood nest are a good sign. In late summer and autumn, assess whether stores are sufficient to carry them through winter.
• F6 · Queen cells. Look for queen cells on the face and bottom edges of frames. They indicate the colony is preparing to swarm or supersede the queen; the right action depends on the time of year and your goals.
• F7 · Space available. Are the bees filling all available space? A crowded hive with no room to build is preparing to swarm. If frames are filling rapidly, add a super or replace honey frames with foundation.
• F8 · Signs of disease or pests. Look for Small Hive Beetle (dark brown beetles or larvae) and American foulbrood — sunken, greasy, perforated or discoloured brood cappings, and larval remains that draw out in a brown, ropey thread when tested. A foul smell is sometimes present but often faint or absent, so never rely on odour to rule AFB out. AFB is notifiable — report any suspicion to Agriculture Victoria immediately. Watch too for wax moth — silk webbing, tunnelled comb and gritty frass on the bottom board — though it takes hold in weak or failing colonies, not strong ones, so treat it as a sign to check what else is wrong. For Varroa, don’t rely on spotting mites on adult bees — reddish-brown specks visible on bees mean the infestation is already heavy and you’re well behind. Monitor deliberately instead: a sticky mat or bottom board to track natural mite drop, or an alcohol wash for an accurate mite count. See our Varroa surveillance program for how and when.
• F9 · Temperament. Note the colony’s temperament during the inspection. A colony that becomes unusually defensive may be queenless, under stress, or preparing to swarm.

After the inspection

Keep written records of every inspection — date, weather, colony state, queen status, food stores, anything observed, and any action taken. These records are invaluable for spotting trends and planning your management over time. And if, after studying the signs, you’re still uncertain about what you’ve found, ask a more experienced beekeeper. Get certainty about what the problem is before you act.