Approved longer description

Apiary Forecast is a UK decision-support service built specifically for beekeepers. It interprets local forecast weather for practical beekeeping jobs including hive inspections, forage and nectar conditions, stores pressure, swarm weather and queen mating.

Member tools extend that weather context into the apiary. Hives Today brings current conditions and colony priorities together, Colony Management keeps continuing records for individual hives, and Apiary Visit provides a field-friendly workflow for inspections, feeding, treatments and other colony work, including offline use where mobile reception is poor.

Forage Outlook combines weather with Plant Atlas 2020 distribution evidence, local seasonal-development timing and beekeeper-recorded Managed Forage where significant crops or other managed flowering sources are known to be present.

Apiary Forecast began as a weather-awareness project for the Kintyre and Mid Argyll Beekeeping Association and is now available to beekeepers across supported UK locations.

Suggested citation

Apiary Forecast. “Apiary Forecast: UK bee-weather forecasting and colony-management decision support.”  Available at: https://apiaryforecast.com/

Key facts

Name: Apiary Forecast
Website: https://apiaryforecast.com/
Category: UK beekeeping weather and colony-management decision support
Audience: Beekeepers, beekeeping associations and beekeeping educators
Main weather tools: Inspection Outlook, Forage Outlook, Stores Pressure, Swarm Outlook and Queen Mating Outlook
Colony tools: Hives Today, Colony Management and Apiary Visit
Other member features: My Apiaries, My Apiary Trends, Managed Forage and email alerts
Swarm Outlook: Free public UK service
Member apiaries: Up to three private saved apiary locations
Colony capacity: Up to 30 active colonies across the account
Membership: £35 per year with a two-week free trial
Founder offer: £25 per year for subscriptions started by 30 September 2026
Current status: Open beta
Owner/developer: John Richardson / Cyberspace::UK
Origin: Developed from a Kintyre and Mid Argyll Beekeeping Association weather-awareness project

What it does

Apiary Forecast brings weather, local forage evidence and beekeeper-recorded colony information together.

Its weather tools help beekeepers understand:

• whether conditions offer a useful opportunity to inspect colonies
• whether weather may support a prepared colony issuing a swarm
• likely pollen and nectar support and whether bees can practically reach forage
• when weak intake may put increasing pressure on colony stores
• whether upcoming weather offers useful opportunities for virgin queen mating flights
• how recent conditions are developing at saved apiaries

Member features add the colony itself to that picture.

Hives Today provides a quick starting point for weather, colony priorities and things needing attention.

Colony Management keeps continuing records for inspections, queens, stores, feeding, treatments, major colony events and follow-up work.

Apiary Visit takes those records into the field, allowing beekeepers to work through colonies, record inspections and other hive work, review the visit and synchronise it afterwards. It can be prepared for offline working where mobile reception is poor.

Members can save up to three private apiary locations and manage up to 30 active colonies.

What it does not do

Apiary Forecast does not replace training, local observation, colony records, association guidance, statutory disease guidance or judgement at the hive. 

It is not a general weather app, not a disease-diagnosis tool and not a guarantee of colony behaviour.

Mating Outlook does not confirm that a queen has mated. It only shows whether local forecast weather appears suitable, marginal or poor for mating flight activity.

Swarm Outlook does not predict that a colony will swarm. It shows whether weather may support swarm movement if a colony is already preparing to issue.

Boilerplate

Apiary Forecast is a UK beekeeping decision-support service combining local bee-weather forecasting with practical colony management. It interprets forecast weather for hive inspections, forage and nectar conditions, stores pressure, swarm weather and queen mating, using local weather, location, elevation, seasonal-development timing and Plant Atlas 2020 distribution evidence where relevant.

Member features include private saved apiaries, Hives Today, Colony Management, Apiary Visit, My Apiary Trends, Managed Forage and alerts. Colony records can include inspections, stores, feeding, treatments, queens and follow-up priorities, while Apiary Visit supports practical hive-by-hive working including offline use.

Apiary Forecast was created by UK beekeeper John Richardson and developed by Cyberspace::UK from an earlier weather-awareness project for the Kintyre and Mid Argyll Beekeeping Association. The UK Swarm Outlook remains free to use.

Privacy note

Private saved-apiary locations are account-bound. Saved coordinates are deliberately fuzzed before saving for privacy and are not exposed in public links or public forecast pages.

Media and association enquiries

For press enquiries, association enquiries, testing interest or regional coverage requests, please use the contact form on this website.

Logo and screenshot use

Please contact Apiary Forecast before using logos, screenshots or service images in published material.

Short quotations from this page may be used when describing or linking to Apiary Forecast, provided the meaning is not changed.