Stinger

Colonies

With an apiary pinned and you in it (or after naming one), create colonies:

Naming colonies

Any name you like — Bench 1, Cell Builder, 1A, The blue hive by the old oak tree. A dozen words Stinger keeps for itself are refused at create and rename, with a suggestion: a pallet or row label (Pallet 1, Row B — say P1 or RB instead), a range (1A through 1D), the set words (all, every, none, except), the state words (queenless, weak, dead-out, nuc, today), the command words (archive, move, restore, confirm, leave them), and the name of one of your apiaries. Stinger hears those words as instructions, so a colony called Pallet 1 could never be told apart from "the colonies on pallet 1". The same rule keeps an apiary from taking one of your colony names. Only the whole name counts — Weak Hive and Row Boat are fine.

Creating many at once

Describe the layout the way you would to a crew. Stinger works out the names and reads back what it made — "Created 52 colonies 1A through 13D in Rodman".

Configuring many at once

Already have the colonies? Set the whole apiary's equipment in one sentence. Stinger records it on every active colony and reads back the total — "Set 52 colonies in Rodman to 10-frame Langstroth, 1 deep".

One colony's setup is just an observation: "Set A2 to a triple deep Langstroth." Boxes you physically add or remove are inspection events, not configuration.

Say the pattern or the pallet size once; you never need to spell out every name. If a layout could be read two ways, Stinger asks how many per pallet or row rather than guessing.

Doing something to every colony

Did the same thing to a whole yard, a pallet, or a run of hives? Say it once. Stinger records it on every colony in the set and reads back the count — "Added a feeder to 52 colonies in Rodman".

Choosing colonies by what the record says. Name the state instead of the hives and Stinger finds them from their records, reads the names back, and waits for your confirm word before it writes anything: "Queenless in Rodman: 2B and 3A — feed both? Say 'confirm feed' to proceed, or 'leave them' to cancel."

A reading older than a week is read back with its date. If nothing matches, Stinger says so with the count ("None of the 16 colonies in Rodman is queenless") and writes nothing. Anything but the confirm word cancels. The same six states answer a plain question with nothing written — "Which colonies are weak in Rodman?" — see Asking questions.

Stock is adjusted for the whole batch when you keep inventory, and it never gets in the way: if the warehouse showed 48 excluders and you put on 52, all 52 are recorded and the stock reads zero — Stinger says so once. One colony's observation is just an inspection, as always; a question ("how many colonies in Rodman have feeders?") changes nothing.

Undo. Wrong yard, or changed your mind? "Undo that." · "Revert the feeder on all of Rodman." · "Scratch the last batch." Stinger reverts every record of the most recent batch (or the one you named), cancels its reminder, returns the stock, and reads back the count — "Reverted the feeder on 52 colonies in Rodman." A batch older than ten minutes asks you to say "confirm revert" first. One colony's record is still "Revert that last inspection."

Archiving or moving a whole apiary

Shutting a yard down for the season, bringing it back, or trucking every hive to another site? Say it once. Stinger reads back the count and asks you to confirm before it touches anything — "Archive 52 colonies in Rodman? Say 'confirm archive' to proceed, or 'leave them' to cancel." — then does every colony under one batch.

Every confirmation ends the same way: "confirm …" to proceed, "leave them" to cancel — two words the field microphone reliably hears (a lone "no" is too short and never arrives). Anything but the confirm word cancels it. A move refuses when the destination already uses one of the names — rename first, then move. Archiving the apiary itself is still "Archive Rodman", which waits until the yard has no active colonies. One colony is still "Archive colony 2B."

The active colony

Name a colony and Stinger anchors to it — "Now on Bench 1" — so your next sentences log there without repeating the name. The anchor follows whichever colony you name, and it clears after 10 minutes of quiet so an inspection never lands on a colony you visited earlier. When no colony is anchored, just include the colony name in the sentence. If you forget, Stinger asks which colony you meant rather than guessing.

Naming another apiary

A single-colony command can reach a colony in an apiary you are not working. Add "in" and the apiary's name: "Archive colony 2C in Orchard." · "Inspecting 1B in Orchard: queen seen." Stinger looks only in Orchard — never the active apiary — and if Orchard has no 2C, or there is no apiary by that name, it says so instead of guessing. Without "in …", the colony is found in the apiary you are working.

Housekeeping

Archive and move ask you to confirm before they commit. Deletes are refused when real history exists.

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