One of the most important skills a beekeeper can develop is the ability to read and understand brood patterns. Brood tells you nearly everything about how your colony is doing—whether the queen is healthy, if the hive is stressed, and if pests or diseases are starting to take hold. Spotting issues early starts with knowing what normal looks like and how to recognize when something is off.
What Is Brood and Why It Matters
Brood refers to the developing bees inside the hive: eggs, larvae, and capped pupae. You’ll find them mostly in the center of the brood nest, where nurse bees care for them.
There are three types of brood:
- Worker brood – most common and critical to colony function, developing in the smallest of the cells and eventually with flat cappings. These will be the brood that is graded during inspections.
- Drone brood – larger cells, usually found around the edges with domed cappings.
- Queen brood – rarely seen unless a new queen is being made, her cell hangs off the face or bottom of the comb vertically and can resemble the texture of a peanut shell.
A strong brood area shows a colony’s ability to grow, maintain its population, and recover from setbacks. Healthy brood equals a healthy hive.
What a Healthy Brood Pattern Looks Like
A healthy brood pattern appears as a solid block of capped cells with very few gaps. Ideally, you’ll see eggs, larvae, and capped brood all in the same area, arranged in a consistent, dense pattern. This indicates a well-mated, productive queen.
You might see a ring of pollen and nectar surrounding the brood, which is also a great sign—bees are storing food close to where it’s needed most.
How to Grade Brood Patterns
Brood patterns can be graded on a scale from 0 to 5, with 0 meaning no brood is present at all, and 5 representing a dense, solid, healthy brood pattern with minimal empty cells.
- 0 – No brood visible
- 1 – Very spotty brood pattern, large areas of empty cells between brood
- 2 – Spotty pattern, brood is present but uneven and inconsistent
- 3 – Decent brood pattern with some unevenness, moderate gaps
- 4 – Mostly solid brood pattern with minor imperfections
- 5 – Excellent, consistent, densely packed capped brood with very few open cells
When determining the overall grade for the hive, base your score on the best brood frame you can find. You’re mainly evaluating the capped worker brood when assigning a grade. The goal is to get a snapshot of the queen’s laying performance and colony health based on that strongest example.
Common Brood Pattern Issues and What They Suggest
- Spotty or Shotgun Brood Pattern
This can indicate a failing queen, poor mating, age, or diseases like chalkbrood or sacbrood. - Scattered Drone Brood
Found mostly in worker-sized cells, this can mean the hive has a drone-laying queen or laying workers. - No Brood at All
This could be due to a queenless hive, early spring delay, or a colony that recently swarmed. - Patches of Sunken or Discolored Cappings
These may signal disease like American Foulbrood (AFB), European Foulbrood (EFB), or chalkbrood. Inspect further if you see this. - Multiple Eggs per Cell / Eggs on Cell Walls
This is a clear sign of laying workers and indicates a queenless situation. - Perforated Cappings or Larvae in Odd Positions
Sometimes a sign of hygienic behavior—bees removing infected or weak brood—or a response to disease.
Seasonal Variation in Brood Patterns
Brood patterns change throughout the year:
- Spring: Rapid build-up, strong laying, solid brood patterns
- Summer: Steady brood production, sometimes more drones
- Fall: Brood tapers off as the colony preps for winter
- Winter: Very little or no brood is normal
It’s important to factor in the time of year before assuming something is wrong. A break in brood in winter, or right after a swarm, may be perfectly normal.
Tools to Help Identify and Track Patterns
- Use good lighting and move slowly during inspections. It can be helpful to stand on the sunny side of the hive so that the sunlight comes over your shoulder and directly into the cells of the comb
- Take clear photos of brood frames. If you’re having difficulty seeing eggs or very young larvae, take zoomed-in photos of the areas of the comb where you suspect there may be brood and review the photos later. The camera in your smart phone does great work at capturing even faint light at the bottom of a cell, not to mention that you can further zoom in on a photo if you have any doubt.
- Use a record-keeping system like the Appiary app to log brood grades, notes, and photos all in one place
Tracking brood over time helps you make better decisions and spot patterns that could be easy to miss otherwise.
Final Thoughs
Reading brood patterns is one of the most useful skills in beekeeping. It gives you a snapshot of your hive’s condition and can help you catch problems early. Once you know what to look for, brood inspections become a quick and powerful part of your regular hive visits.
Use tools like Appiary to document brood grades and compare changes over time. And if you’re ever unsure, don’t hesitate to take a photo and ask for help. Beekeeping is a constant learning experience—and understanding your brood is a big part of it.