What's all this then?

Hi, I'm Matt and I made Beetight. I created it in 2010 when I was a new beekeeper, and there didn't seem to be any decent bee record keeping software out there. I found it really hard to keep track of paper records, even with just two hives. As my day job was developing web and mobile app I thought I'd make one myself. I clearly wasn't the only one who was looking for this, as the response was incredible, and there are now tens of thousands of beekeepers around the world using Beetight, from hobbyists like me with one or two hives, to commercial opperations with thousands. Sadly I have since developed a bee allergy so I no longer have hives of my own, but I like to know that there are hundreds of thousands of colonies around the globe that I am helping.

So what does it do?

I set out to replace the paper or spreadsheet-based records that most beekeepers seem to use, so its first job is to handle records of inspections. I spent some time looking at examples of record sheets and tried to take the best of them. To that end, it records laying pattern and temperament on a six-point scale. You can also say whether you have seen the queen, or eggs. There is space to record any queen cells spotted, or whether there are excessive drone cells. You can record varroa drop counts, as well as any treatments that you may have given. You can keep track of when and how much you have fed them and lots of other stuff. I keep adding new features because everyone asks me for them!

And what about the extra features?

Beetight is about more than records of inspections. You can track any honey that you take, including generating batch codes as required by law in many countries. If appropriate you can also record the primary nectar sources.

You can keep track of details of the colonies as well, including records of the queen and colony sources. It supports splitting and uniting colonies, as well as records of requeening.

The apiary features are particularly useful if you have hives at several sites. You can easily see which hives are where, and the dates of inspections. If you record the location, it will even show the current weather conditions and forecast for each site. You can see all of your apiaries on a map and click on them to get information.

Can I use this when I'm out in the field?

The Beetight apps for iOS and Android let you quickly and easily record inspections in the field, even if you have no network conenction. It will automatically sync with Beetight.com when you're next online. You can take and upload photos, and scan barcodes to identify your hives.