App Overview
What BeeKeepPro does and how it's structured
BeeKeepPro is a single-file LiveCode stack that stores all data locally in a SQLite database on your device. No internet connection is needed to record data — weather information is the only feature that requires a network. The app runs on both iOS (database stored in Documents folder) and macOS/Windows desktop (stored on the Desktop).
Navigation Model
Every screen has a < Back button at the top-left that returns you to the previous screen. The Back button is context-aware — from a Hive Hub it goes back to the Hive List, but if you arrived from an inspection it returns to the Hive Hub.
The app uses a hierarchical navigation model:
Dashboard → Apiaries → Hives → Hive Hub → Inspections / Harvests / Treatments / Queen
Database & Data Safety
Your data is stored as beekeeper.sqlite on your device. The app uses SQLite's synchronous write mode so data is flushed to disk after every save — closing the app without tapping Back will not lose data.
The database is automatically created (and migrated from older versions) when you first open the app.
First Launch & Setup
Get up and running in under 5 minutes
Open BeeKeepPro. The app creates the database automatically. You land on the Dashboard.
Tap Settings (bottom-right tile on the Dashboard) and enter your Beekeeper Name and default Apiary latitude/longitude for weather. Tap Save Settings.
Tap the Apiaries tile on the Dashboard. Press + Add to create your first apiary. Fill in a name, address, and the GPS coordinates. Tap Add Apiary.
Select your apiary from the list to open the Hive List. Press + Add to create your first hive.
You're ready! Tap any hive to open its Hive Hub and start logging inspections, harvests and treatments.
Dashboard
Your command centre — live stats, weather and quick navigation
The Dashboard is the first screen you see every time you open BeeKeepPro. It gives you a live snapshot of your apiary at a glance.
Weather Strip
Shows current temperature, condition (Clear sky, Partly cloudy, Rain, Thunderstorm…) and wind speed fetched live from the Open-Meteo API using your apiary GPS coordinates.
Below the strip a Bee Activity rating is calculated automatically: Excellent / Good / Fair / Low / Poor / None, based on temperature, wind speed and sky condition.
Summary Strip
Three at-a-glance numbers:
Hives Active hive count (excludes Inactive status)
Alerts Open swarm alerts needing attention
Last Insp Most recent inspection date across all hives
Navigation Tiles (2 × 4 grid)
Eight large tap targets take you to every major section of the app. The active apiary name is shown as a subtitle below the BeeKeepPro title.
Recent Activity Feed
A scrollable list of your 10 most recent events across all hives — inspections, harvests, treatments and swarm alerts — sorted newest first.
Bee Activity Rating Logic
| Condition | Rating |
|---|---|
| Thunderstorm / Snow | None |
| Rain / Shower / Drizzle | Poor |
| Fog | Poor |
| Temp < 10°C | None |
| Temp 10–12°C | Very Low |
| Wind > 35 km/h | Poor |
| Score ≥ 6 / 7 | Excellent |
Apiaries
Top-level grouping for your hive locations
An Apiary is a physical location where you keep hives. BeeKeepPro lets you manage multiple apiaries. The currently selected apiary is shown with a ► arrow in the list and as a subtitle on the Dashboard header.
Apiary List Screen
Accessed via Dashboard → Apiaries. Lists all apiaries sorted alphabetically. Each row shows the name and location (if set). Tap a row to navigate directly to that apiary's Hive List.
Tap + Add to create a new apiary.
Tap a row to select the apiary and jump to its Hive List.
Tap Edit to open the edit form for the currently active apiary.
Apiary Edit Form Fields
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Name | Required. A short descriptive name e.g. "Back Garden" or "South Field". |
| Location / Address | Free-text address or landmark. Displayed in the list as a subtitle. |
| Latitude | Decimal degrees e.g. 51.5074. Used for live weather data. |
| Longitude | Decimal degrees e.g. -0.1278. West longitudes are negative. |
| Notes | Any notes about the site — access, flowers nearby, hazards, etc. |
Hives
Add, edit and browse your individual colonies
Hive List Screen
Accessed via Apiaries → tap an apiary. Shows all hives in the selected apiary sorted alphabetically. Each row displays the hive name, type and status. The active hive is marked with ►.
Tap any row to open that hive's Hive Hub. Tap + Add to create a new hive in this apiary.
Hive Edit Form Fields
| Field | Options / Notes |
|---|---|
| Hive Name | Required. E.g. "Alpha", "Box 1", "Queen's Landing". |
| Location | Position within the apiary — e.g. "NE corner" or "Row 2 #3". |
| Type | Langstroth · National · WBC · Top Bar · Other |
| Status | Active · Inactive · Queenless · Nuc · Swarm |
| Install Date | DD/MM/YYYY. Auto-fills today's date for new hives. |
| Number of Boxes | Integer count of supers/brood boxes currently on the hive. |
| Apiary | Drop-down of all apiaries. Defaults to the currently active apiary. |
| Notes | Free text for anything else — history, lineage, quirks. |
Hive Hub
The central command screen for a single hive
The Hive Hub is your dashboard for one specific colony. It shows a summary of all vital information and provides quick-access buttons to every action.
At a Glance Panel
Hive Name — displayed in large amber text at the top.
Type & Status — shown side by side (e.g. "Langstroth | Active").
Last Inspection — date of most recent inspection for this hive, or "None yet".
Queen Status — pulled from the Queen Tracker. Shows status, marker colour and year if recorded.
Recent Inspections — a scrollable list of the last 5 inspection dates with brood pattern and honey stores.
Action Buttons
Six large buttons launch actions for this hive, pre-filling the hive name in every form:
+ Inspection + Harvest + Treatment Queen Info Edit Details Delete HiveInspections
Detailed colony health records with 20+ data points
Inspections are the heart of BeeKeepPro. Each inspection captures a comprehensive snapshot of colony health. Temperature is auto-filled from the live weather cache when you start a new inspection.
Creating an Inspection
From the Hive Hub tap + Inspection, or go to Dashboard → Inspections → + Add.
The form pre-fills today's date, current temperature and weather condition.
Select the hive from the Hive drop-down (pre-filled if you came from the Hub).
Fill in all relevant fields. Only the date and hive are technically required.
Tap Save Inspection. You return to the Hive Hub or Inspection List.
Inspection Fields Reference
| Basics | |
|---|---|
| Date | DD/MM/YYYY — auto-filled with today |
| Time | Optional time of day |
| Inspector | Your name or the person who did the inspection |
| Weather Temp | Auto-filled from live weather; editable |
| Weather Condition | Sunny · Cloudy · Overcast · Rainy · Windy · Foggy |
| Colony Health | |
| Queen Seen ✓ | Checkbox — tick if you spotted the queen |
| Eggs Seen ✓ | Checkbox — confirms queen was laying ≤3 days ago |
| Honey Bound ✓ | Checkbox — brood nest full of honey, limiting egg-laying |
| Brood Pattern | Solid (Excellent) · Patchy · Scattered · Empty |
| Temper | 1 (Docile) → 5 (Very Aggressive) |
| Frames Covered | Number of frames covered with bees |
| Honey Stores | Surplus · Adequate · Low · Critical |
| Varroa & Disease | |
| Varroa Method | Not Tested · Alcohol Wash · Sugar Roll · Sticky Board |
| Varroa Count | Mite count from the chosen method |
| Varroa % | Infestation percentage (e.g. 2.5 for 2.5%) |
| Disease Signs | None Observed · AFB · EFB · Chalkbrood · Sacbrood · Nosema |
| Queens & Feeding | |
| Queen Cell Type | None · Swarm · Supersedure · Emergency |
| Feed Type | None · Sugar Syrup · Candy · Fondant · Pollen Sub |
| Feed Amount | Volume or weight given (free text) |
| Notes | |
| Actions Taken | What you did during the inspection |
| Notes | Any other observations or concerns |
Inspection List & Filtering
The Inspection List (Dashboard → Inspections) shows all inspections sorted newest first. Use the Hive filter drop-down at the top to narrow results to a single hive. When accessed from a Hive Hub the filter is pre-set to that hive automatically.
Tap any row to open the full inspection record for viewing or editing. Tap the Delete button (shown only when editing an existing record) to permanently remove it.
Queen Tracker
Track queen identity, hatch timers and rearing calendars
The Queen Tracker has three tabs — Queen, Hatch Timer and Rearing Calendar. Only one tab's content is visible at a time; tap a tab to switch.
Tab 1 — Queen Record
Stores a single queen record per hive. If you re-queen, saving a new record replaces the old one.
| Hive | Select from your active hives |
| Status | Present · Absent · Laying · Failing · Virgin · Replaced |
| Year | Year the queen hatched (e.g. 2024) |
| Colour | BIBBA/ISA marking colour (White, Yellow, Red, Green, Blue) |
| Breed | Buckfast, Italian, Carniolan, AMM, etc. |
| Temperament | Calm · Moderate · Defensive |
| Laying Pattern | Excellent · Good · Patchy · Poor |
| Notes | Purchase source, mating history, etc. |
The Queen History scroll list at the bottom shows the saved queen record for every hive in your active apiary at a glance.
Tab 2 — Hatch Timer
Enter the date you observed a queen cell and select its development stage. Tap Calculate to see the estimated hatch date.
| Egg (Standing upright) | +16 days to hatch |
| Small Larva (Day 4–5) | +13 days |
| Large Larva (Day 7–8) | +10 days |
| Newly Capped (Day 9) | +7 days |
| Dark/Papery Cap (Day 13–15) | +3 days |
Tab 3 — Rearing Calendar
Enter your grafting date and tap Calculate. The calendar outputs 5 key milestones:
| Day 5 | Cells capped — stop feeding the starter |
| Day 10 | ⚠️ Fragile! Move queen cells to cages/nucs |
| Day 12 | Queens hatch |
| Day 23 | Peak mating flight window |
| Day 30 | Verify — check for fresh eggs |
Harvests
Log honey and wax yields with pricing and sales tracking
Harvest Form Fields
| Hive | Select which hive the harvest came from |
| Date | Auto-filled with today's date |
| Honey (kg) | Weight of honey extracted |
| Wax (kg) | Weight of beeswax recovered |
| Quality | Exceptional · Good · Average · Poor |
| Price / kg | Your selling price — used in revenue totals |
| Sold ✓ | Checkbox — tick once sold |
| Flavour Notes | Taste profile, floral sources, colour |
| Notes | Processing notes, equipment used, etc. |
Harvest Summary Panel
At the top of the Harvest List two running totals are shown:
Total Honey Sum of all honey_kg across every harvest in the database.
Total Revenue Sum of (honey_kg × price_per_kg) for all harvests — a rough gross revenue figure.
Treatments
Record mite treatments with withdrawal period monitoring
Treatment Form Fields
| Hive | Which hive is being treated |
| Date | Treatment start date (DD/MM/YYYY) |
| Type | Varroa · AFB · EFB · Nosema · Feeding · Other |
| Product | e.g. Apivar, Apiguard, OAV, Thymovar |
| Dosage | Amount / concentration used |
| Duration (days) | How many days the treatment runs |
| Varroa Before | Mite count before treatment |
| Varroa After | Mite count after treatment — measure efficacy |
| Withdrawal Days | Days you must wait before harvesting honey after treatment ends |
| Notes | Application method, observations, etc. |
Withdrawal Period Warning
The Treatment List displays a Withdrawal Warnings panel at the top. Any treatment where the withdrawal period has not yet expired (today ≤ treatment_date + withdrawal_days) is listed with its end date. This prevents you from harvesting honey during an active withdrawal period.
Weather Log
Live conditions, historical log and bee activity assessment
Live Weather Panel
Fetches live data from Open-Meteo (free, no API key required) using the coordinates of your active apiary (or the coordinates saved in Settings as a fallback). Data refreshes each time you open the Weather Log screen or tap Refresh.
Displayed fields: Temperature °C Condition Wind km/h
Bee Activity Assessment
Automatically computed from live weather. Tells you whether foraging is likely right now. The assessment uses a scoring algorithm:
- Temperature score: +3 if ≥22°C, +2 if ≥17°C, +1 if ≥12°C
- Wind score: +2 if <12 km/h, +1 if <25 km/h
- Sky score: +2 if Clear sky, +1 if Partly cloudy
- Hard stops: Thunderstorm/Snow/Rain → always Poor/None regardless of score
Historical Log
BeeKeepPro stores one weather record per day (upserted). The log shows the last 30 days — date, temperature, condition and wind speed. Historical data is also displayed on the Dashboard weather strip.
Setting a Custom Location
Tap Set Location to enter custom latitude and longitude directly (useful if your apiary coordinates differ from Settings). These are saved as global defaults and used for all future weather fetches when no apiary is active.
Swarm Alerts
Log swarm events and assess risk before they happen
Logging a Swarm Alert
Tap + Add Alert. A prompt asks you to describe the swarm activity (e.g. "Swarm in apple tree, ~3 kg cluster"). The record is saved with today's date and shows as unresolved in the list.
Alerts remain visible until manually deleted. The Dashboard shows the count of unresolved alerts.
Swarm Risk Assessor
Tap Assess Risk to get a real-time risk rating. The algorithm scores four factors:
| Factor | Max score |
|---|---|
| Hive Strength (your selection) | 5 |
| Season (auto from current month) | 5 |
| Temperature (from weather cache) | 3 |
| Conditions (from weather cache) | 3 |
Total score ranges 4–16. The output is one of:
Peak Swarm Season (Northern Hemisphere)
The risk assessor automatically uses the current month:
Apr–Jun Peak season — score 5
Feb–Mar Early spring — score 3
Jul–Sep Late summer — score 2
Oct–Jan Off-season — score 1
Settings
Personal preferences, weather location, export and data management
Settings Fields
| Apiary Name | Your default apiary name (for display purposes) |
| Beekeeper Name | Used in the personalised Dashboard greeting |
| Latitude | Default GPS latitude for weather when no apiary is active |
| Longitude | Default GPS longitude for weather when no apiary is active |
Tap Save Settings after making changes.
Export CSV
Tap Export CSV to export all your data to a single CSV file saved in the Documents folder as BeeKeepPro_export.csv. The file contains separate sections for each data table:
About
Tap About to view version information: BeeKeepPro v1.0 — Your complete beekeeping companion.
⚠ Clear All Data
The Clear All Data button permanently deletes everything in the database: all apiaries, hives, inspections, queens, harvests, treatments, swarm alerts and weather records.
A two-step confirmation dialog is shown before anything is deleted. Once confirmed this cannot be undone — there is no undo or trash.
Data & Database
How your data is stored, backed up and exported
Database Location
| Platform | File path |
|---|---|
| iOS | /Documents/beekeeper.sqlite |
| macOS / Windows desktop | Desktop/beekeeper.sqlite |
Database Tables
Pro Tips
Get more out of BeeKeepPro
🐝 Inspection Workflow
Open the app before you go to the hive. The weather auto-fills when you start a new inspection. You can record everything on the phone while working the hive — just tap Save when done.
📍 Accurate Weather
Enter precise GPS coordinates for each apiary (not just the town) — use Google Maps or your phone's GPS for the exact lat/lon of your hive site. This makes the Bee Activity rating much more accurate.
👑 Queen Colour Coding
Use the international BIBBA colour scheme:
Blue 2021, 2026
White 2022, 2027
Yellow 2023, 2028
Red 2024, 2029
Green 2025, 2030
💊 Track Varroa Trend
Record Varroa Before and After on every treatment. Over multiple treatments you can see whether your mite pressure is increasing or decreasing and adjust your treatment timing accordingly.
📤 Regular CSV Backups
Export a CSV from Settings monthly and store it in cloud storage (iCloud, Dropbox, etc.). The database file can also be copied directly via Files app (iOS) or Finder (macOS).
🗓 Rearing Calendar Tip
The Day 10 milestone in the Rearing Calendar is the most critical — queen cells are extremely fragile just before and after hatching. Set a phone reminder for Day 10 as soon as you graft.
🚨 Swarm Prevention
Check the Swarm Alerts risk assessor every week during April–June (Northern Hemisphere). Combine it with what you find in inspections — queen cells + high score = take action immediately.
📋 Inspector Field
If multiple people inspect your hives, always fill in the Inspector field. This is included in the CSV export so you can track who spotted problems and build accountability.