Your First Hive Inspection: Step-by-Step

Your first hive inspection is terrifying. You're about to crack open a box containing thousands of stinging insects and root around in their home. What if you crush the queen? What if they attack? What if you have no idea what you're looking at?

Take a breath. Hive inspections are actually calmer than you expect. Bees are focused on their work—they don't care about you unless you threaten them. Move slowly, use smoke appropriately, and you'll be fine.

Let's walk through exactly what to do.

When to Inspect

Timing within the season: For a newly installed package or nuc, wait 7 days after installation before your first inspection. For established colonies, inspect every 7–10 days during the active season (spring through early fall).

Time of day: Mid-day on a sunny day (10 AM – 4 PM) is ideal. Foragers are out working, so fewer bees are home. The warmth keeps bees calm.

Weather: Never inspect in rain, high wind, or temperatures below 55°F. Cold bees are cranky bees, and you can chill brood.

Duration: Aim for 10–20 minutes maximum. You're not doing surgery—you're doing a wellness check. Get in, find what you need to find, get out.

Before You Open the Hive

Suit Up Properly

Zip everything. Tuck pants into socks. Secure glove cuffs. One bee inside your veil will ruin your day. Double-check before approaching the hive.

Light Your Smoker

This is the #1 thing new beekeepers mess up. Light your smoker well before you need it. Use dry fuel (pine needles, wood chips, cardboard, burlap), get it burning well, then pack more fuel on top. You want cool, white smoke—not flames.

Test it: pump the bellows a few times. If you get thick white smoke that lasts, you're good. If it dies out, start over. A smoker that quits mid-inspection is a problem.

Gather Your Tools

You need: lit smoker, hive tool, somewhere to set frames (an empty box or frame rest). Optional: notebook for recording observations, phone for photos.

Opening the Hive

Step 1: Approach Calmly

Stand to the side or back of the hive—not in front of the entrance. Foragers are flying in and out; don't block their runway.

Step 2: Smoke the Entrance

Give 2–3 gentle puffs of smoke into the entrance. Wait 30 seconds. This triggers bees to gorge on honey (their fire response), which makes them calmer and less likely to sting.

Step 3: Remove the Outer Cover

Set it aside upside-down nearby. Give a puff or two of smoke across the top of the inner cover if bees are visible through the hole.

Step 4: Remove the Inner Cover

Gently pry with your hive tool—bees glue everything with propolis. Lift slowly. Give another light puff of smoke across the top bars if needed. Don't over-smoke; too much makes bees frantic.

Working the Frames

Start at the Edge

Don't pull a center frame first. Start with an outside frame (position 1 or 10). Edge frames are usually just honey/pollen—less populated, easier to handle, and gives you working room.

How to Remove a Frame

1. Use your hive tool to break the propolis seal between frames
2. Slide the frame toward the empty space you've created
3. Lift straight up—don't tilt or you'll roll bees against the adjacent frame
4. Hold the frame over the hive so any falling bees land inside

How to Hold a Frame

Grip the ends (the "ears") firmly. Hold it vertically over the hive with the comb facing you. To see the other side, rotate the frame like turning a page—top rail goes down, then rotate to face you. Never hold a frame flat/horizontally; comb can break or sag, especially in heat.

Move Through Methodically

After removing that first edge frame (set it in your empty box), slide the remaining frames apart slightly to give yourself room. Work through the box frame by frame, always returning each frame to its original position.

What You're Looking For

1. Eggs and Larvae (Most Important)

Eggs are tiny—like a grain of rice standing on end at the bottom of a cell. They're hard to see. Tilt the frame so sunlight hits the cell bottoms. Look in cells near the center of the brood pattern.

Larvae are easier to spot: small, white, curled grubs. Young larvae look like tiny "C" shapes in white. Older larvae fill more of the cell before being capped.

If you see eggs: You had a laying queen within the last 3 days. Excellent.

If you see larvae but no eggs: Queen was laying recently but may have stopped. Watch closely.

If you see neither: Potential queen problem. Don't panic yet—sometimes you just miss them. Check again in a few days.

2. Brood Pattern

Capped brood (tan/brown cells with raised caps) should be in a solid, oval pattern. A few empty cells are normal—workers remove unhealthy larvae. But large gaps, a "shotgun" pattern with random empty cells, or sunken/perforated cappings indicate problems.

Good pattern: Solid oval of capped brood with few gaps
Bad pattern: Scattered, spotty, or with many empty cells mixed in

3. Population Trend

Are there more bees this week than last week? A growing population means the colony is healthy and the queen is productive. A shrinking population (especially in spring/summer) is concerning.

4. Food Stores

You should see pollen (colorful cells in yellows, oranges, reds) and honey (capped white cells or uncapped glistening nectar) around the edges of the brood nest. A ring of food around the brood is normal and healthy.

If frames look empty and bees seem lethargic, they may be starving. Feed immediately.

5. Space

Are 7–8 frames covered with bees and drawn comb? Time to add another box. Running out of space triggers swarming.

Bonus: Finding the Queen

You don't need to find the queen every inspection—eggs prove she's there. But if you want to spot her: she's larger, with a longer abdomen. She moves deliberately while workers scurry around her. She's usually on frames with eggs. Some beekeepers mark queens with a dot of paint to make her easier to find.

Closing Up

1. Return all frames to their original positions
2. Gently push frames together so they're properly spaced
3. Replace inner cover (use smoke to move bees out of the way if needed)
4. Replace outer cover
5. Step away and let them settle

Don't crush bees. Move slowly when lowering covers. If bees are on the edges, a gentle puff of smoke moves them. A few crushed bees happen—don't stress about it—but avoid crushing many. Crushed bees release alarm pheromone, making others more defensive.

Common First-Inspection Mistakes

• Inspecting too soon: Wait 7 days after installation. Earlier inspections disrupt the colony and stress the queen.
• Taking too long: Aim for 15–20 minutes. You're not solving every mystery today.
• Over-smoking: A few gentle puffs is plenty. Constant smoking makes bees frantic.
• Holding frames wrong: Always hold vertically over the hive. Horizontal = disaster.
• Not recording observations: You'll forget what you saw. Write it down or snap photos.