How bee-pilot.io is structured: apiary, hive stand, colony, queen

bee-pilot.io maps your beekeeping operation across four levels. Once you understand how these four terms relate to each other, you’ll find your way around the entire app right away. It’s worth reading this article first, before diving into the other help articles.

Apiary

An apiary is the physical place where you keep your bees — with an address or GPS position. Each apiary can host several colonies.

Hive stand

Within an apiary, you set up one or more hive stands. A hive stand is a numbered spot where a hive can be placed — think of it like a spot on a bench or pallet. A hive stand can either be empty or hold exactly one colony.

Colony

A colony is a single bee colony with its own properties: hive type, temperament, colony strength, and a traffic-light indicator for health status (red, yellow, green). A colony is normally placed on a hive stand, but it can also temporarily have no hive stand — this is called being parked. So the hive stand is just the colony’s current location, not part of its identity.

Queen

Each colony normally has a queen. Her marking color, breed, and origin are recorded separately from the colony, since a queen can be replaced while the colony itself continues to exist.

Where to find this in the app

Right after opening bee-pilot.io, you land on Home, the list of your apiaries. On your very first login, a short setup wizard also runs automatically to guide you through the first steps.