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What happened to the hive? Weight events

Plan: Apisense PRO AI

The Scale detects unusual changes of the hive mass: decreases, increases and short changes. The app shows them as events and asks What was it?. You select the answer, for example Harvest, Swarm or Feeding. The Scale does not know who or what moved the hive. It only knows that the mass changed suddenly.

Where to see the weight events

  1. Open the hive. Select the Hive state tab.
  2. Below the chart in the Weight card, there can be an Unusual weight drop in the hive card or an Unusual weight rise in the hive card. The card shows the newest event that has no answer.
  3. Expand the Weight card. The Events section has the list of the events of the season. An event without an answer has the To confirm mark.

On the chart, you see the events from the 7 d range and longer ranges. The Scale needs approximately one week of data to identify an event. The usual daily cycle of the mass (day and night) is not an event.

Below the Weight chart there is a legend. The event markers: harvest confirmed, awaiting confirmation and other event. The coloured band below the mass line shows the honey stage: flow on, ripening, ready: check the capping or calm. The legend shows only the colours that are on the chart.

How to confirm a weight event

  1. Touch the event or the card with the question What was it?.
  2. In the Confirm the weight drop sheet (or Confirm the weight change), select one answer: Harvest, Box removed, Swarm, Robbing, Super added, Feeding, Inspection, Split, Other, Nothing relevant (e.g. a Scale measurement error).
  3. For Other, write a short note. For Nothing relevant (e.g. a Scale measurement error), the note is optional.
  4. Tap Save. The app shows Answer saved.

The hint from the app is at the top of the list, but it is not selected. You can change the answer later: touch the event with the Your answer mark. Only the author of the answer or the apiary owner can change it.

A confirmed Harvest goes into the harvests. See How much honey a hive gave.

Did the hive swarm?

The Scale can show a sudden decrease of mass in the season. This decrease can mean a swarm, but also a honey harvest, a box removal or robbing. The app does not confirm a swarm itself. Examine the hive. If the colony swarmed, select the answer Swarm.

A frame photo shows the queen cells in the hive: the analysis result has the Queen cells layer. You can also record queen cells in an inspection or in a note.

Did the colony take the syrup?

When you pour syrup into the feeder, the Scale can detect an increase of mass. Then answer Feeding.

The Scale weighs the whole hive together with the feeder. When the bees move the syrup from the feeder to the combs, the mass stays in the hive. Thus the Scale does not show if the bees took the syrup. Look into the feeder after 2-4 days. The instructions in the syrup calculator give the same advice.