Apiary Update: Healthy Hives and Strong Brood Patterns

Today was an inspection day across several Pure Coastal Honey apiaries, checking colony health and monitoring how our hives are progressing following recent management work.

We inspected:

• our recent split from McLeans Ridges,

• the Flow Hive, and

• our Sentinel hive, used for ongoing monitoring and data collection.

Regular inspections are an essential part of responsible beekeeping, allowing us to assess colony strength, confirm queen performance, and monitor for pests such as varroa mites.

Monitoring Hive Health

Inspection trays were checked across the apiaries to assess natural mite drop. Monitoring mite levels helps us understand how colonies are responding after treatment and ensures we can act early if conditions change.

Encouragingly, mite drop levels remain low, supporting what we’ve been seeing during hive inspections — strong, active colonies continuing to perform well.

📷 Photo: inspection tray showing monitored mite drop

Strong Queens and Solid Brood

One of the highlights of today’s inspections was confirming healthy, laying queens across the hives. Marked queens were sighted, making it easier to track colony performance and maintain consistent hive management.

We observed solid brood patterns, a key indicator of colony health. A consistent brood pattern tells us the queen is laying well and that nurse bees are maintaining stable conditions inside the hive.

📷 Photo: marked queen during inspection
📷 Photo: solid brood pattern

Strong brood today means strong field bees in the weeks ahead — an important sign as colonies continue building strength.

🐝 A Tall, Working Hive

One of today’s inspections included our Flow Hive, currently running a full setup with a brood box, an ideal super, and a Flow honey super.

As colonies grow stronger through the season, additional space is added to support both brood development and honey storage. The brood box is where the queen lays eggs and new bees are raised, while the supers above allow bees to store surplus honey.

This taller configuration reflects a healthy, expanding colony with enough population to manage and utilise the available space effectively.

📷 Photo: Flow Hive showing brood box, ideal super, full deep super and Flow super during inspection

For many people, it’s surprising to see just how large a productive hive can become — but this space helps reduce crowding, supports colony health, and allows bees to store honey naturally as nectar flows