Know what you’re looking at every time you open a hive.
£29
A good inspection tells you everything you need to know about your colony. A rushed or uncertain inspection tells you almost nothing—and leaves you more anxious than before you started. This module teaches you how to inspect properly, efficiently, and confidently.
- 19 detailed video lessons on hive inspection techniques
- Complete walkthrough of a full beekeeping inspection from start to finish
- Practical guidance on what to look for—and what to do with what you find
Inspections are the foundation of good beekeeping. Do them well and everything else follows.
This module is part of the The 14-Day Beekeeper (£149). Only buy this individual module if you’re specifically interested in this subject, without the context of the full course.
Why Buy This Module?
Confident inspections come from practice and knowledge in equal measure. This module gives you both.
- You’ll complete inspections with confidence. Not just going through the motions, but actually understanding what each frame is showing you and what action, if any, to take. That’s a completely different feeling from hoping you haven’t missed anything.
- You’ll know what healthy looks like. Brood patterns, queen signs, stores, space—this module trains your eye to spot what matters and not get distracted by what doesn’t.
- You’ll understand when NOT to inspect. Opening a hive at the wrong time does more harm than good. Learning when to leave your bees alone is just as important as learning when to go in.
- You’ll get support. Found something during an inspection you’re not sure about? Reach out. We’re here to help you work through it.
Module Lessons
This module covers 19 specific topics. Each lesson gives you practical, experience-based guidance you can apply straight away.
1. How Often Should You Inspect Your Bees
The answer depends on the season, the colony, and what you’re looking for. Learn how to set a sensible inspection schedule and when to adjust it.
2. When To Not Inspect Your Bees
There are times when opening a hive does more harm than good. Learn to recognise those conditions—weather, colony state, time of year—and when to leave well alone.
3. How To Complete An Inspection
A step-by-step guide to running a proper inspection—how to approach the hive, how to work through the frames, and how to close up correctly.
4. How To Remove A Frame Safely
The technique for removing frames without rolling bees, injuring the queen, or destabilising the colony. A fundamental skill that makes every inspection smoother.
5. How To Shake A Frame Of Bees
Why and how to shake bees from a frame during an inspection. Learn the correct technique and when it’s actually needed.
6. A Look Around The Beehive
An orientation lesson on what you’ll encounter when you open a hive—the different frames, what’s on them, and how to read what you’re seeing.
7. What You Might See In An Inspection
A practical catalogue of what you might encounter during an inspection—eggs, larvae, capped brood, queen cells, stores, pollen, and more.
8. Disease Inspections
How to look specifically for signs of disease during your routine inspection. Learn what to look for and how to differentiate normal brood from unhealthy brood.
9. Actions You Need To Take After An Inspection
An inspection isn’t over when you close the hive. Learn how to record what you found and what follow-up actions to take based on your observations.
10. Full Beekeeping Inspection
Laurence conducts a complete inspection in real time—narrating everything he sees and every decision he makes. An invaluable reference for what a thorough inspection looks like in practice.
11. Full Beekeeping Inspection 14DB
A second real-time inspection walkthrough on a 14×12 brood box setup, showing how inspection technique adapts to different hive configurations.
12. Orientation Flights
What orientation flights look like, why they happen, and how to tell them apart from swarming or other concerning activity at the entrance.
13. How To Install A Nuc Of Bees
Step-by-step guidance on installing a nucleus colony into your hive—what to do, what to check, and how to set the colony up for success.
14. My First Nuc – Week 2
A real-world follow-up inspection on a newly installed nuc—what to look for at this stage and how to interpret what you find.
15. My First Nuc – 3rd Video
The third inspection in the series, following the colony’s progress and showing how a healthy nuc develops over its first weeks.
16. My First Nuc – Ep 4
Continuing the real-world nuc series—see how inspections change as the colony grows and what decisions Laurence makes along the way.
17. My First Nuc – Ep 5
The final episode in the first nuc series—bringing together everything covered in the earlier inspections and showing what a settled, established colony looks like.
18. My First Nuc – Week 7
An inspection at the seven-week mark—what a well-developed nuc looks like and how to assess whether the colony is on track.
19. Hive Q Week 12
A community-focused inspection walkthrough at the 12-week mark, showing a range of colony states and how to interpret different scenarios.
Part of the 14-Day Beekeeper
This Inspections module is one of 14 modules in the The 14-Day Beekeeper—our complete training program with 300+ video lessons, the Beekeeping Blueprint system, and 12 months of HiveQ membership.
If you’re new to beekeeping or just starting out, the complete course will serve you better. This module assumes you already understand basic hive knowledge and what the components of a hive do. Without that foundation, some of what you see during an inspection will be difficult to interpret correctly.
The full course builds that knowledge step-by-step, so by the time you reach inspections, you’ll have everything you need to put it into practice.
What students say
Learn why beekeepers choose us.Learned so much
was watching your videos long before you started 14DBK. Your simple method of getting the information across and genuine love of beekeeping shines through. My wife and I have now finished the course but are still learning so much from the HiveQ community. The ability to return to relevant modules at any time is an absolute blessing.
All anyone needs to start beekeeping
14DBK – Bought when it first launched and it’s been invaluable. Books, although valuable, lack the ability to watch someone actually do what they teach. 14DBK and the youtube channels new direction to education is all anyone needs to start beekeeping.
A reference library
I loved this course, as a new beekeeper it has been very helpful and we certainly be a reference library going forward that I can go back to time and again, I can fully recommend this for newbies and experienced beekeepers
A wealth of knowledge
Purchased the 14 day beekeeping course for my mum for christmas. She loved it! And we are excited to be going into 2026 with a wealth of knowledge and understanding of bees that we didnt have before.
Why Learn From Laurence?
Laurence Edwards has been teaching beekeeping for over a decade. His YouTube channel has helped hundreds of thousands of people start beekeeping with confidence, and his Beekeeping Blueprint system helped him increase his own honey yields by 400%.
This isn’t theory from a textbook. It’s practical, tested advice from someone who keeps bees every single day and has made every mistake so you don’t have to.
Want the full experience?
The Inspections module is just one step. The The 14-Day Beekeeper includes 14 in-depth modules covering everything from equipment and hive assembly to swarming, queen management, honey extraction, and Laurence’s proven Beekeeping Blueprint system.
300+ video lessons | 12 months HiveQ membership | The complete Beekeeping Blueprint
