The Importance of Good Notes
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By: Richard Wahl
Beekeepers come in all shapes and sizes, but most seem to fit into one of two categories. The dedicated beekeeper who reads, studies, and continually works to improve their skills for the benefit of the colonies they keep, or the individual who is less serious about the requirements and could simply be categorized as a “bee haver.” That is, the person who believes the bees will take care of themselves with little or no human intervention. As I often explain to the customer buying a jar of honey who asks what is involved in keeping bees, but doesn’t necessarily want the half-hour lecture, “Beekeeping is animal husbandry with an insect.” The same as your cat, dog, or pony requires food, water, shelter, and protection from pests and disease, bees under your care have similar requirements. With Varroa mites spreading diseases among nearly all honey bees across the U.S., it has become increasingly difficult to find feral colonies surviving in the neighborhood woods or wetlands as they once did. That is where keeping good notes on what is and what has happened in your hives becomes so important. Bees seem to remember everything, but beekeepers do not. Good apiary records are among one of the most valuable tools a beekeeper can possess. I realize note taking is not the glamorous side of beekeeping, but good records often remove much of the guesswork and greatly improve the odds of long-term success. In many ways, that is one of the things that separates the “bee haver” from the “beekeeper.” And despite their reputation for independence, your bees will benefit greatly when you, the beekeeper, truly know what is going on inside the hive.
Differences of a Hobby Bee Haver and Husbandry Beekeeper
Beekeeping is not for the faint of heart. Learning to manage a potentially stinging insect that can provide pollination services or a crop of honey requires time, education and experience to become a proficient beekeeper. Honey bees are livestock every bit as much as cattle, sheep, chickens or horses. Although the attention bees require may not be needed daily, or as frequently as with other livestock, they still depend on the beekeeper’s regular attention to optimize nectar, pollen, resin and water collection, as well as brood rearing and honey production. In today’s beekeeping environment, there seems to be a growing difference between a hobby bee haver and a husbandry beekeeper. A hobby bee haver is someone who owns bees. They enjoy having a hive or two in the backyard, like watching the foragers come and go, and are delighted to harvest a few jars of honey each year. There is certainly nothing wrong with that. In fact, many of us started there. The problem arises when ownership is mistaken for management. Simply possessing a colony does not automatically make one a beekeeper, any more than owning a dog makes one a veterinarian.
A husbandry beekeeper, on the other hand, sees the colony as livestock under their care. They monitor food stores, evaluate brood patterns, watch for disease, control parasites, provide adequate housing, and make management decisions based on the needs of the bees rather than the convenience of the beekeeper. They understand that honey bees have survived for millions of years without social media advice, miracle treatments, or the latest fashionable gadget, but that modern challenges such as varroa mites and other diseases require informed intervention. The hobby bee haver may ask, “What can my bees do for me?” while the husbandry beekeeper more often asks, “What do my bees need from me?” The difference may sound subtle, but it often determines whether a colony merely survives from season to season or truly thrives. As I often relate to new beekeepers, the bees do not care what title you put on your business card; they only care whether you show up and do the work. Part of that work involves keeping good notes. Good records help a beekeeper recognize patterns, and in beekeeping, patterns matter. A colony that swarms every May is demonstrating a pattern. A queen line that winters poorly is demonstrating a pattern. A hive that consistently produces eighty pounds of honey while another produces fifteen is demonstrating a pattern. Without records, those observations become little more than vague impressions somewhere between memory and imagination. With records, they become usable information, and information is one of the most valuable tools a beekeeper can have when managing a bee yard, or even a single hive.
Old-Timer’s Pocket Notebooks
Before the advent of computer apps, recording devices, and modern hive management technology, many old-time beekeepers simply relied on handwritten notes. In my earlier years of beekeeping, I once met an older beekeeper who had been working with bees for several decades. As the conversation went on and I was asking questions about his colonies, he reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a ragged, well-worn little notebook that faintly carried the smell of smoke and propolis. Even though the pages were wrinkled and the corners folded from years of use, he flipped through it and referred to his handwritten scribblings to answer one of my questions. He began reciting dates and timing from when he had raised certain queens, as though they were still fresh in his mind. Hive numbers were written alongside abbreviated notes like “NQF,” “MD,” or “GQ.” Over time, he had developed his own shorthand that only he could fully interpret; such as “no queen found,” “many drones,” or “good queen.” He explained that he used abbreviated codes for every hive and every visit to his apiary. To anyone else looking at those notes, they would have seemed nearly meaningless. But to him, they represented an accumulated record of knowledge from countless inspections and seasons of work. Whether the system is a pocket notebook, paint marks on hive covers, thumbtacks, colored tape, or some home-grown set of symbols that looks like a code book, the importance is the same. Every hive in the apiary has to make sense to the beekeeper keeping it. The value is not in elegance, but in consistency. Good records don’t need to be fancy, they simply need to exist.
What Records Should be Kept by a Beekeeper
That’s one of those questions where the old adage fits perfectly, “Ask a group of eight beekeepers a question and you’ll get twelve different answers.” Some beekeepers maintain records detailed enough to qualify as a small research project, while others are content to jot down “Hive #6 looked good” on the back of a recent purchase receipt. The real goal is not the paperwork for its own sake, but to have information that actually means something when you need it. The items I tend to record include the date of inspection, weather conditions, queen status, brood pattern, colony temperament, honey and pollen stores, swarm potential, signs of disease or pests, mite counts and treatment dates, any feeding done, honey production, and equipment changes or additions. Of course, not every inspection on every hive needs every detail every time. That may sound like a long list, but in practice most inspections boil down to a few quick notes. An entry might look something like this, “May 14 – Hive #6, queen seen, eggs/larva/brood present, two swarm cells, calm hive, added second deep, good nectar flow.” I usually write it down right after I close the hive, before moving on to the next one. That simple summary ends up telling a complete story. A month later, it might explain why a colony swarmed, why honey production dipped, or whether a queen was quietly superseded when nobody was watching.
Queen Records
One area where records really prove their worth is in queen management. I am often surprised when some beekeepers cannot answer the most basic questions about their queens. How old is she? Was she locally raised? When did the colony last supersede her? How do her worker daughters perform going into and coming out of Winter? These are not small details, because queens are the engine that drives the entire hive. A productive, gentle, disease-resistant queen is worth her weight in gold, while a failing queen can turn a strong colony into a frustrating disappointment in a matter of weeks. Good notes allow a beekeeper to follow queen lineage and performance over time. Each year I typically retain only two or three queens from the ten to twelve overwintered nucleus (nuc) colony queens I produce. These are my top performers. That does not mean the others are “bad,” but queens that show too many negatives get pinched. I keep the best of the best so I can make small, steady improvements in my genetics year after year. For example, if one queen line and her daughters consistently overwinter well in my northern climate, or if another line repeatedly produces colonies that become overly defensive, my records make that pattern visible. Without documentation, those traits become guesswork and memory fades quickly. With solid records, queen rearing decisions become intentional; and that is the foundation of improving bees rather than just replacing them.
Mite Records
There was a time before 1987 when many beekeepers could open their hives, admire the bees, harvest honey, and go home with a smile on their face; something many new beekeepers still try to do. But then came Varroa destructor, a tiny parasitic mite that changed modern beekeeping forever. I have to admit, my own regimen for monitoring, testing, and when necessary, treating mites was not as consistent in my first half-dozen years of beekeeping as it should have been. Although I did manage to have at least one hive survive each of our SE Michigan Winters in those early years, I could have done much better had I been more conscientious about mite loads. In today’s beekeeping, mite management is one of the most important responsibilities a beekeeper has. Mite monitoring without records is like driving with a blindfold on. Mite counts, treatment dates, products used, and treatment effectiveness all need to be documented to keep the forty or more viruses and diseases they vector under control. Memory fades and a beekeeper may think a treatment was applied eight weeks ago when it was really twelve, or that one colony was treated while the hive next door was not. I am not a fan of blanket-treating all hives when only one or two show excessive mite loads. That does require a bit more testing, but it also allows treatment to be applied only where and when needed.
One step many beekeepers miss is retesting after the treatment period is complete to determine whether it was effective. Good records make it clear when that treatment window has closed and when a follow-up test should be done to measure results. This is especially important because improper mite management contributes not only to colony losses, particularly over Winter, but also to treatment resistance when products are misused or overused. In beekeeping, accurate records are always better than guesswork. When I first developed a treatment regimen using a variety of products through the season, as needed, my overwintering success jumped to 75%–80%. As I continued refining those treatment options, my overwintering survival rate increased to around 90%. Only by referring back to past records have I been able to make those adjustments, reduce unnecessary chemical treatments, and improve the overall strength of my hives.
Honey Production
Moving on to the subject that tended to attract most of us to the beekeeping adventure in the first place; honey. Honey records matter for several reasons. They help identify productive colonies, reveal nectar flow timing, and allow comparisons between queen lines and management styles. A beekeeper who records harvest weights over several seasons begins to notice trends. It may be that basswood consistently yields well during humid Summers, that goldenrod production collapses during drought years, or perhaps one apiary location simply outperforms another by pounds per colony. This kind of information should directly influence future management decisions. It may determine where additional colonies are placed, guide planting choices, or even affect financial planning for sideline and commercial beekeepers. Speaking of financial planning, it is difficult to calculate profitability when records consist mainly of hopeful estimates and bee club narrations.
Winter Notes
Winter is one of those times when a colony’s weaknesses are often exposed. Each Spring, beekeepers lift the outer and inner covers and find out which colonies survived. Any dead outs naturally raise questions. Did the colony go into Winter with a strong queen? Was moisture buildup an issue? Did they simply run out of stores? Were mite levels too high the previous Fall? Or was there pressure from four-legged intruders? By evaluating the possible causes of Winter losses, a beekeeper can begin making adjustments to reduce those losses in future seasons. When colony strength, food reserves, mite levels, and queen age are known going into Winter, it becomes much easier to understand why colonies succeed or fail. Over time, that information becomes extremely valuable. I have had my share of all of these situations at one point or another. But careful observation, along with a few notes taken during that first Spring inspection, has helped me eliminate most of those problems in later years. Recognizing the patterns as they emerged has made me a more efficient beekeeper, with fewer losses as the years go by. I often say I have learned more in the past five years than I did in my first five combined. And a good portion of that comes down to simply recording situations as they happened. I will be the first to admit that if I had today’s understanding back in my early years, I would have been a far more efficient beekeeper from the start.
Weather is Always a Factor
I grew up on a dairy farm, and like most farm kids, I learned early that you keep one eye on the weather. Beekeepers are no different and have good reason to track weather just as closely. Simple weather notes can often explain things that might otherwise become mysteries later in the season. Cold or erratic Springs can slow brood buildup. Wet weather during nectar flows cuts down on foraging time. Strong winds can delay mating flights and set queens back. Drought brings on what beekeepers call a dearth, when plants may still be blooming but nectar and pollen production drop off sharply. A dearth can show up after just two or three weeks without rain. The flowers are still there, but the nectar and pollen flow is not. A beekeeper may later realize a poor honey crop had less to do with the bees and more to do with weeks of dry weather right as clover came into bloom. Nature, not the colony, changed the outcome. Good notes would make that clear.
Digital Beekeeping
With the technology available today, beekeepers have more options than ever before when it comes to keeping records. Smartphone apps, spreadsheets, cloud databases, voice recordings, QR codes, and digital hive scales have all made their way into bee yards. Sensors can now track temperature, humidity, weight gain, and even the sounds coming from a colony. In some cases, a hive may carry more electronics than those early space missions. There is no question these digital tools can be useful. They allow records to be searched quickly, trends to be tracked across seasons, and observations to be preserved rather than left to memory alone. For hobbyists in particular, being able to record notes while standing in front of a hive can make the process far easier and more consistent. Still, the technology itself is not the goal. Bees have been doing what bees do for millions of years, long before smartphones and Wi-Fi ever entered the picture. No sensor or app replaces a beekeeper’s eyes, ears, and experience. These tools are simply aids that help translate what the bees are already telling us into information we can better understand and use. Whether records are written in a notebook, stored in the cloud, or entered into an app, good beekeeping still begins the same way it always has; with careful observation and learning to read the colony.
Concluding
Nearly all beekeepers start out with the thought, “I will remember that the next time I am in the hive,” or “I will just write it down later.” Then a few weeks go by and you find yourself standing in front of the colony wondering, “Was this the one I saw that in, or was it the other?” No matter what form they take, a few good notes go a long way toward avoiding that confusion and making you a more efficient beekeeper. If technology feels intimidating, start simple with a basic notepad or a printed inspection sheet. In my article, “Weather as a Factor in Beekeeping,” published in the July 2023 issue of Bee Culture Magazine, a simple check-off style inspection sheet appeared on page 47. There are also many similar inspection sheets available online that make a good starting point for building a note-taking system. Good note taking, in whatever form works for you, is another step toward more self-sustainable beekeeping.
