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An interactive 3D beehive cutaway that ties an autumn inspection's three key checks — honey stores, Varroa mite load and hive ventilation — into a single winter-survival estimate, while an outside-temperature slider shows the bee cluster tightening the way a real winter colony does.
Beekeepers judge autumn readiness on a handful of concrete signals: whether stores are near the 60-80 lb a colony typically needs to reach spring, whether Varroa counts (from a sticky board, sugar shake or alcohol wash) are under the action threshold, and whether the hive's ventilation gap is wide enough to vent moisture without losing the cluster's heat. This simulation turns those three checks into comb honey levels, a red-dot mite count riding the bee cluster, and a condensation haze near the lid.
Drag the honey stores, Varroa mites, ventilation gap and outside temperature sliders and watch the comb fill, the mite dots multiply, the condensation haze near the roof thicken, and the bee cluster ball tighten as temperature drops. The winter survival estimate, risk level and cluster tightness update live from the formula in "How it works".
A strong, unpleasant odour or a mushy, discoloured brood pattern can signal American Foulbrood, which is highly contagious and often fatal to a colony — real inspections treat that as a reason to contact a local beekeeping association immediately, not something to self-treat.