Here is a brand new 2 story high hive with pollen trap and queen excluder. Beekeepers have many tools and lots of stuff hive related. Medications need proper storage, comb foundations have to keep cool. Having Honeybees requires responsibility and caring. More so today than ever before you need to inspect your colonies regularly to make sure that it is not just surviving, but thriving throughout the four seasons. In this section I cover the basics of hive inspection throughout the year.
Assuming you either have a new colony which is settled into a new box or an existing wintered over colony, it is time to check on the early Spring condition of the honeybees. I like to keep records of each colony containing basic information from each inspection throughout the seasons. This way, I can see patterns of improvement or decline in health of my bees.
I am assuming that you are new to beekeeping and this is your first attempt at inspection. I suggest that you have your basic tools ready and have a small logbook and pen handy. The tool list is simple, but necessary for ergonomic inspection. Here are the tools I suggest.

Keeping tools can be tough. They take up lots of space. And you need to keep them away from ants and other critters. I had ants clear out 20 frames of honey in 2 weeks. Over 220 pounds of honey stolen by ants. Then you need to worry about humidity: a smoker can either last forever or for a few years, it's up to you to properly store metal items away from Winter Air, especially in the East where we get Atlantic City Ocean air all the time affecting metals.
 
 

Bee smoker and bellows Nothing is more important than a quality smoker. Choosing one is simple. Buy a good stainless steel smoker with enough capacity ( internal space for burning material ) so that you don't have to reload during any given inspection. Do not skimp here, your smoker is the difference between a fun inspection and a frenzy of grumpy bees. I keep a cup of sand handy to pour into the smoker after each use - this kills off any flames that remain and eliminate the chance of starting a fire. Clean after each use and store in a dry place.  There are new products on the market that are replacements for a smoker. I've never used them, but they appear in all the major beekeeping catalogs. I'm sure they are safe too. There is something special about lighting the smoker and keeping a mellow burn going all while working several hives. I'll take the old method here. Clean Burlap This is the fuel for the smoker. There are products on the market today that is safer, longer burning and easier to light. I still use burlap and I find it a good fuel which produces a good quality, low temperature smoke. Be sure that it is clean, free of any oils, greases, paint or other hazardous chemical that will kill the bees. I wash my burlap sacks and air dry them. I cut them into roughly one foot squares, then store them away in a sealable plastic bag. One or two of these squares will give you about 20 minutes of smoke. Always have a handful with you at the hives and loosely pack a few into the smoker when ready to begin inspection

Queen Excluder Some devices are so simple that you can't improve on them. A strategically placed queen excluder can make your life as a beekeeper much more pleasant. The queen excluder is a sturdy grill like device that is placed between hive boxes. The grids are large enough for the workers to easily pass through, but keep the queen in the box where she is. Note: drones are also trapped by excluders. I like an excluder for a few simple reasons: mainly to keep the queen from laying eggs in a box I want to be honey stores only. Queens will lay eggs anywhere that seems sanitary enough and making her way from box to box often causes you major headaches when extracting. Also, excluders are great for TWO QUEEN colonies. Having two queens is a great way to increase hive population and honey storage quickly.

Pollen Traps Look at the small horizontal gap in between the upper and lower wire screen. The square grids are the passage that the workers are forced to pass through, but some will not so this small horizontal gap is the space the bees pass through to enter and exit the hive if they will not pass through the grids.  Returning bees who are carrying pollen have to walk across the grating and the pollen detaches, falling to a catch tray below. Ideal for collection pollen with absolutely no effort. A great way to increase the space in your hive for honey storage and a great way to successfully capture pollen is an external pollen trap. The trap is placed between the first and second hive supers and all entrances are closed off. The bees are forced to use the trap to enter and exit the hive. As they walk across the wire mesh surface, the pollen is grabbed and falls free to a clean capture box. Pollen is a great money maker and you will be surprised to see how much the bees bring back to the hive. I like the idea of giving a colony a mid hive entrance too.  This type of Pollen Trap is placed between a bottom super and a top super. Sown here is the top box with pollen trap in place. All entrances are closed and the bees quickly adapt to the new entrance. 4 Long support slats about 1/2 thick form a rectangle and is placed between the hives. The pollen trap is a separate box that fits an opening at the front of the hive. The regular entrance is blocked and the bees soon adapt to the new beeway.  The pollen trap is a hefty piece of equipment that securely hangs between your hive boxes. I will report collection amounts in my  Logbook 2001 Section.

Barbecue Lighter I like those long lighters used for lighting barbecues to start the burlap in my smoker. It keeps my fingers away from the fire and and allows me to pump away at the bellows. You can of course use a regular cigarette lighter or matches, but for a few bucks, you'll have this stowed away in your smoker. Matches of course work, but when you have your hands in a pair of leather gloves and honey all over the place, you'll be glad you had something large enough to grab hold of. Besides, matches  are a fire hazard. I do keep matches in my smoker, wrapped in burlap just in case the lighter dies..

Leather gloves Good fitting, long sleeve, vented gloves are a pleasure to use when working with the frames. Don't think that beekeeping ISN'T messy, cause at times it gets down right sticky and dirty. Leather gloves are sting proof and very flexible when properly fitted. They will last for years if properly cared for. You need to clean and wipe the gloves after every use. I wear the gloves and wash my hands under warm water, dry them immediately and then rub them down with olive oil and again remove as much excess oil as possible. Finally, I store them flat in my cabinet. Something to remember: shoot smoke on your gloves to cover any scent that may disturb the bees. Smoke is a great tool, use it always to make your beekeeping enjoyable.

Hood and Veil When it's time to get down and dirty, you will need a hood and veil. I use a square faced hood that keeps my face plenty far from the screen on all sides. There are many types of hoods to choose from, this is one piece of equipment that you can pick out without any coaching from me. Just find one that you really like and take good care of it.

Goggles If you don't wear a hood and veil, then I recommend you use goggles or swimming glasses to keep the bees from accidentally flying into your eyes. I've been stung thousands of times and never been stung in my eyes, but I sure wouldn't look forward to it. An ounce of prevention here will give you a great amount of piece of mind.

Frame grabber  A handy too is the frame grabber. It is a spring loaded tool that allows you to grab a single frame with just one hand. It does take a bit of hand strength to hold on for long periods of time, but with just a twist of the wrist, you can see either side of the frame. I like to use the frame grabber for pulling the frames out of the super and for holding them securely as I scrape cappings or remove excess wax. Using the frame grabber can take some hand strength though. You'll need to lean the frames against the hive body occasionally to give your grip a break. But it is very handy to pull the frame free of the other frames without actually getting your hands into the super.

Hive tool  This is a simple pry bar like tool with a notch on one end for pulling nails and scraping cappings. Also, it has a bent lip on the opposite end for prying frames and boxes apart. I've used many different objects, knives, small crowbar, hatchet and almost anything I could get my hands on. But the hive tool is really ideal. It's light, tensiled and perfect for handling with leather gloves on.

Magnifying glass  I keep a quality magnifying glass handy for many reasons. I like to look closely at the bees, inspecting for mites, checking the cells and looking closely at the larva and eggs. Note: be careful not to fry your bees if the sun is above or behind you.  I use a large 5 inch glass that I also use when camping: it can start a fire in seconds when the sun is concentrated through it. So becareful where the sun is because loosing a worker is not a big deal, but cooking your queen is a great way to slow down your hive growth really quick. Also, the bees are not as keen on the idea of the magnifying glass as we are. Often, the will get active as light patterns pass over them and as the look through the glass.

Empty deep box shell I keep several empty supers handy for several reasons. I often pull several frames out of a hive during inspection and I need a place to put them. The empty super also makes a good stand to place other supers on, thus keeping them off of the ground. A few strong boards between saw horses work well too. Anything that gets you away from excessive bending is well worth the setup time. Use this space to keep all your tools and hive boxes off of the ground.

Log Book As with any job, there is paperwork. You will be glad that you started a log book after several months of beekeeping. I have kept one since my earliest days in the hobby. Nothing special is needed, just a simple book with enough room for a few seasons of notes. I keep the following information in my book.   Date inspected. Number of colonies. Number of swarms spotted. General health. rough poundage of honey in the hive. Any signs of disease Whether I spotted the queen or freshly laid eggs or young larva. Other insects or predators spotted. Anything note worthy or different from last inspection.

Entrance Feeders I highly recommend a quality entrance feeder whenever you start a new colony. Nothing promotes good wax production that an ample source of sugar water. I mix 5 pounds of sugar to 2 gallons of water and I slowly cook the mixture over a low heat to dissolve the sugar fully. Many beekeepers will say it's too thick, others will say the opposite. This combination works for me. I keep the entrance feeders full when starting a new colony and when moving boxes around the yard. If I need to close the bees in for some reason, I keep the feeder in use then too. Another really good reason to have an entrance feeder is for housing the bees safely during local pesticide spraying. You can easily see the amount of sugar water left and refilling is a piece of cake. Note, the lids tend to rust out after a season of moderate use. I often smell a metallic smell to the sugar water and I carefully inspect and clean the lid. These are standard Mason lids, but the holes are a bit tricky. Keep them "staple hole small" and you'll be ok.

The 1999 season was a disaster, I lost nearly all my colonies. This happens and should not be the end of your beekeeping adventure. You are dealing with living creatures that are very dependent on humans today. You should be prepared to have major swings in the cycle of life with your colonies. I've said all through my Novice Beekeeping Course that honeybees are facing possible extinction without the intervention of man. Don't give up and with your assistance and a bit of luck, you'll have many many pleasurable seasons of beekeeping.

Having the right tools makes your job a pleasure. Not having the right tools will have you cussing under your breath when 5000 bees are attacking you. I offer a meta-psychical voyage into the proper way to inspect the bees. It should give you some insight to how fluid you should approach the hives. If you are smooth and adequate smoke is use, your inspection should be a fascinating adventure. I promise that honeybees can be pleasant every time if you interact with the bees in THEIR WORLD, not yours. Please read The Tai Chi of Beekeeping section which also has a full description of a weekly inspection of all age colonies.
 

Preparation for Inspection

Be prepared to spend about 20 minutes to 30 minutes per colony. Have all your tools laid out somewhere that you can get to them easily without excessive bending. I keep a clean trash can handy with a sheet of plywood on top to set all my tools on. This way, I simply move the can from hive to hive and never need to bend over or search for tools.

I choose not to wear a bee suit, this is my preference. I do however wear a long sleeve shirt and long pants. I also wear leather gloves and swimming glasses to protect my eyes. I suggest longsleeve Vented Leather Gloves, they are a please to wear. I have small to medium hands and a medium fits me well. I put both gloves on and rub them together in my hands with a good fregrence free lotion and I work and kneed my hands together and after a few treatments, it will respond to your every touch. Gloves are very importsnt, you receive all of your feedback from your tools using your hands. When using hive tools to pry frames apart, you'll crunch less bees and having a solid grip when you handle frames and boxes.

I don't mind the bees flying all around my face, that's part of the hobby, but I am also very aware that my eyes need protecting against accidental collisions or stings, and swimming goggles offer good protection without being too bulky. But if you carefully interact with your hives, you'll have very little flight, just incoming and outbound traffic.