After reading a blog article from Bee Informed Partnership titled “Committing to Keeping Better Records”, I was reminded of the importance for keeping a record of activities in my apiary. The author reminds us that record keeping is an essential part of beekeeping as it allows us to more accurately track our beehives and colonies. Instead of relying on memory (which, in my case, is never advisable), our notes and documentation provides a snapshot of the colony’s health, my beekeeping methods applied in and to the apiary and environmental conditions.

Normally, I review my recent notes about a beehive before I open it for inspection. These documented observations allow me to be better prepared for the inspection and help me know where I might focus my efforts. For example:

• Did I see a potential pest or disease problem? Perhaps the sighting of a few small hive beetles caught my eye.
• Did I see an irregular, spotty brood pattern? Perhaps the pattern was not solid and had empty cells intermingled with capped brood.
• Were the bees unusually aggressive?
• Did I perform a Varroa mite test? If so, what was the result?
• How populated was my beehive? Were frames getting full of bees?
• Was my super getting full of honey?
• Did I see evidence outside the hive of pests such as skunks or raccoons? Did I see dead bees around the entrance?

Along with observations and notes, I add the date, time and environmental conditions. For example, I’ll note if it was sunny, cloudy, windy (which is normal in Oklahoma!) and I may include precipitation conditions, for example if it recently rained or if we were in a drought.

Another option I choose to include in my log book is spring and fall events of significance (to me). For example, I try to document early spring budding trees and flowers. As I see foragers coming to the hive on late winter/early spring, sunny-but-still-coolish days with their pollen pockets fully stocked, my notes help me understand a possible source of pollen. In the fall, I do something similar – documenting potential pollen sources so I can understand where the bees may be scavenging for the final bits of pollen before winter arrives and the hive gets clustered up.

Your method of recordkeeping is a personal choice. Using a clipboard, paper and pen is easy to use, especially with gloves while in the apiary! There are several mobile apps that can be used from your handheld device such as a phone. I make notes on paper then transcribe these to a Google document. I keep a running document for each apiary. (My apiaries are small enough that I can track each beehive in the apiary from the same document.) In this Google Doc I include pictures that I’ve taken from my phone. As they say: “a picture is worth a thousand words.”

If you are not already taking notes and documenting your beekeeping efforts, I encourage you to start! Be consistent and use whatever method is easiest and convenient for you. (If it is difficult or time consuming, you won’t use it!) You will be rewarded for your efforts!