Queen cups and queen cells deserve careful recording because the detail can change the management decision. Avoid recording every cup simply as “queen cells”. Note whether cups are empty, whether a cell is charged with an egg or larva, whether it is capped and approximately where it sits on the comb.
Context matters
The presence of developed queen cells should be considered alongside queen status, eggs, brood pattern, colony strength and space. A record becomes much more useful when it captures those observations together. If you take action, record exactly what happened: cells removed, colony split, queen moved, or a follow-up inspection scheduled.
Keep the timeline
Queen events often make sense only when you can see the preceding inspections. A digital colony history can preserve the sequence from the first observation through to emergence, mating and the return of laying. HiveIQ is being designed to keep that queen-management timeline attached to the colony.