Keeping records: the dullest job with the highest return

With two colonies you remember everything. With ten, nobody recalls which was harvested in which month or which was split last year. A record is what separates a keeper with a trade from one with a hobby, and it costs nothing.

What to record per colony

• Hiving or split date, and which mother colony it came from.
• Position — which corner of the garden, which way the entrance faces.
• Each inspection: date, brood condition, whether queen cells are present.
• Each harvest: date, amount taken, amount left.
• Incidents: ants, termites, poisoning, mould — and what you did about them.

What one year of records tells you

Which colonies produce consistently and which only look good. Which corner of the garden yields more — information that decides where the next colony goes. And when the real harvest season falls in your own garden, rather than the general calendar you read somewhere.

What three years tell you

Which lineage is worth propagating. If splits from one particular mother colony are consistently stronger than the rest, that is the line to keep. There is no way to know this without writing it down.

Records are the basis of traceability

For anyone selling honey, the colony record is what makes a batch code mean something. Without it, a batch code is just a number printed on a label. It is also the foundation of any OCOP file or export dossier.

Notebook or software

A notebook kept at the stand is enough for a few colonies and has the advantage of always being to hand when yours are dirty. From about ten colonies, software becomes more practical because it is searchable, produces summaries, and lets several people record. What matters is not the tool but recording consistently.

Frequently asked

Do I have to open the box to record something?

No. Most of what is worth recording is visible at the entrance. Note interior condition only on the rare occasions you actually open a box.

All the colonies look the same — what is the point?

The value arrives after a few seasons, when differences between colonies and positions start to show. One season of records shows little.

Should I take photographs too?

Very much so. Photographs of the brood at intervals show whether a colony is rising or falling far more clearly than any written description.