Using Tech for minimal disturbance diagnosis

Let’s video the bees without opening the hive

One of the most common stresses among beekeepers is something that I call “The Winter Worries.”

The Winter Worries can be defined here from The Hive Doctor-brittanica:

The general idea is that most beekeepers do not have the confidence that their bees will make it through winter because of two reasons:

• They do not understand the winter cluster, its abilities and function.

• They do not understand how honey bee colonies winter themselves in the natural habitat of a hollow tree cavity.

It is unfortunate, but most actions taken by beekeepers come from guessing what to do and most inaction is born from confusion for the same reason.

There is a better way!

Going into winter should be a process where the beekeeper knows that his or her bees are going to make it all the way to spring time.

All this being said, it’s not what this particular newsletter is about today 😅. It’s about the different methods of minimally invasive technological diagnostics we can use as beekeepers to monitor our hives through the winter time.

• First, I have a video coming out this Friday @8am on December 5th, 2025. It will be awesome! I am using my endoscope to video the inside of a hive while it is in cluster.

• Second, I have recently reached out to a prominent business about using a tool that they have for non-beekeeping. They are sending me two units to begin using right away and I am SO excited about it!! Oh and also, it’s a secret 🤫. So I am not yet revealing what the tool is.

• Third, a thermal imaging tool is excellent for getting a real-time image of the cluster position and size of a honey bee colony. Plus, it doubles as a great tool for doing honey bee removals.

Watch for that video this weekend!

The Solution is right here: Video coming soon…

• Solution points