# Identifying bee hive card



## Cristian (Jul 28, 2014)

Hello 

I'm in a search for system that could help me track my beehives performance . I saw here and there a few thing's . Some of them use push pins , other's paper clips . 
I will plastify the printed card and piut it on the front of the hive and move the pins accordingly with the actual hive performance .

I some ideas about what should contain such a card but I will let you fellows to bring some input . 
If you have your own please post it here .


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## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

I use a 3M autobody masking tape that is easy to remove and the bees are more reluctant to chew. I put it on the inner cover and keep notes on there - Queen lineage, treatment history, number of supers harvested, winter weight, etc.

What I don't like about it: Occasionally the bees do chew the tape. Mice sometimes get on top of the inner cover in the winter and chew the tape. I have to remove the telescoping cover (and the rock or brick on top) to check my notes.


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## liljake83 (Jul 2, 2013)

I use black gorilla tape on the outside of the migratory cover and write with a silver sharpie I track queens ,honey produced treatment dates and frames of bees at almond delivery I use abreviations and keep it as short as possible


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## twgun1 (Jun 26, 2015)

I use duct tape and a sharpee. When the duct tape is full, I take it off, put on a new and transfer the info to a more permanent system in the house.
Seems hand enough to write down wts, feed added, # of brood combs, mite counts, etc... It doesn't take long for my hands to get sticky or smudges with ash or propalis; I tried more permanent cards inside the top boards but just trashed them with my dirty hands. I saw a you tube video of Michael palmer explaining on the duct tape method, Might not be too hard to find.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

I bought these in a group, ten thousand printed priced at $.33 each. Printed vinyl, I use pins to correspond to a particular code. It tracks queen types, age and performance all on a card. Love it!
Farm name, contact info and registration number all on the top


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

I use a yard sheet that came from "Contemporary Queen Rearing". I modified it a bit. Each hive has a number on the back.


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## zhiv9 (Aug 3, 2012)

Michael Palmer said:


> I use a yard sheet that came from "Contemporary Queen Rearing". I modified it a bit. Each hive has a number on the back.


Mike, do you store these in the yard somehow or bring them to the yard with you?


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## Richard Cryberg (May 24, 2013)

I use a one pint zip lock baggie with a paper folded in half inside that I can write notes on with a sharpy. Put it on top of the inner cover. Gives lots of room to write notes and have not had any problems with the bees chewing the plastic. Sun fades a sharpy on the outside of the hive so after a while I can not read it anymore.


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## Cristian (Jul 28, 2014)

Ian said:


> [/URL
> 
> 
> I bought these in a group, ten thousand printed priced at $.33 each. Printed vinyl, I use pins to correspond to a particular code. It tracks queen types, age and performance all on a card. Love it!
> Farm name, contact info and registration number all on the top




Ian : do you have frontal pic with that card ? 
What is with thise numbers from the lower part ? 

Cristian


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## Cristian (Jul 28, 2014)

Michael Palmer said:


> I use a yard sheet that came from "Contemporary Queen Rearing". I modified it a bit. Each hive has a number on the back.


Michael : do you have one that has something writed on it to understand this sheet better .


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Cristian said:


> Michael : do you have one that has something writed on it to understand this sheet better .


Queen Row... Identification number of queen. Year mated. Note if the colony changed their queen. 45.14 would be from breeder queen 45 mated in 2014.
45.14/15V would be same line that hatched a virgin in 2015

Frames of Bees... First time I open inner cover in March. Looking to identify colonies that wintered with large clusters.

Spring Brood Count... Number of frames of brood, when I reverse broodnest when dandelions bloom. Also evaluation of brood pattern...1-5 where 5 is best.

Diseases Present.... Obvious

Varroa Count.... Keeping track of change up or down.

Temper.... Not just how much they sting, but also if they're runny on combs, and if they fly off the comb to attack.

Honey Removed... By weight.

Weight of Hive... At end of September when I feed. Allows me to feed only what is needed for wintering.

Queen Evaluation.... Allows me to decide if I might want to re-queen the colony.


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## Ian (Jan 16, 2003)

Cristian said:


> Ian : do you have frontal pic with that card ?
> What is with thise numbers from the lower part ?
> 
> Cristian


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## Cristian (Jul 28, 2014)

Thank's Ian .


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