Since the invention in the wooden beehive 150+ years ago, there’ve been few innovations in beehive design. But that’s all changing now-at warp speed. Where other industries had the luxurious to evolve slowly, beekeeping must deploy the most recent technologies if it’s to work when confronted with growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use along with the spread of global pathogens.

Go into the “Smart Hive”

-a system of scientific bee care made to precisely monitor and manage conditions in hives. Where traditional beekeepers might visit each hive with a regular basis, smart hives monitor colonies 24/7, so can alert beekeepers towards the need for intervention the moment a problem situation occurs.

“Until the arrival of smart hives, beekeeping was actually a mechanical process.” Says our founder and Chief Science Officer, Dr. Noah Wilson-Rich. “With technology we’re bringing bees in to the Internet of Things. If you possibly could adjust your home’s heat, turn lights on and off, see who’s at the door, all from a cell phone, why don’t you carry out the do i think the beehives?”

Even though many start to see the economic potential of smart hives-more precise pollinator management will surely have significant impact on tha harsh truth of farmers, orchardists and commercial beekeepers-Wilson-Rich and his team at the best Bees is most encouraged by their affect bee health. “In the U.S. we lose almost half of our own bee colonies annually.“ Says Wilson-Rich. “Smart hives permit more precise monitoring and treatment, and that could mean a significant improvement in colony survival rates. That’s victory for anyone on earth.”

The 1st smart hives to be removed utilize solar technology, micro-sensors and smart phone apps to observe conditions in hives and send reports to beekeepers’ phones on the conditions in each hive. Most smart hive systems include monitors that measure hive weight, temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, acoustics and in some cases, bee count.

Weight. Monitoring hive weight gives beekeepers a sign from the stop and start of nectar flow, alerting these to the necessity to feed (when weight is low) and harvest honey (when weight is high). Comparing weight across hives gives beekeepers a sense the relative productivity of every colony. An impressive stop by weight can declare that the colony has swarmed, or perhaps the hive continues to be knocked over by animals.

Temperature. Monitoring hive temperature can alert beekeepers to dangerous conditions: excessive heat indicating the hive needs to be transferred to a shady spot or ventilated; unusually low heat indicating the hive must be insulated or shielded from cold winds.

Humidity. While honey production generates a humid environment in hives, excessive humidity, especially in the winter, could be a danger to colonies. Monitoring humidity levels allow for beekeepers are aware that moisture build-up is happening, indicating a need for better ventilation and water removal.

CO2 levels. While bees can tolerate better degrees of CO2 than humans, excessive levels can kill them. Monitoring CO2 levels can alert beekeepers on the have to ventilate hives.

Acoustics. Acoustic monitoring within hives can alert beekeepers to some amount of dangerous situations: specific changes in sound patterns can indicate loosing a queen, swarming tendency, disease, or hive raiding.

Bee count. Counting the volume of bees entering and leaving a hive can give beekeepers a signal in the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this can indicate nectar flow, and the should relocate hives to more productive areas.

Mite monitoring. Australian scientists are trying out a brand new gateway to hives that where bees entering hives are photographed and analyzed to find out if bees have grabbed mites while away from hive, alerting beekeepers with the must treat those hives to stop mite infestation.

A few of the higher (and expensive) smart hives are created to automate much of standard beekeeping work. These normally include environmental control, swarm prevention, mite treatment and honey harvesting.

Environmental control. When data indicate a hive is too warm, humid or has CO2 build-up, automated hives can self-ventilate, optimizing internal environmental conditions.

Swarm prevention. When weight and acoustic monitoring suggest that a colony is preparing to swarm, automated hives can transform hive conditions, preventing a swarm from occurring.

Mite treatment. When sensors indicate a good mites, automated hives can release anti-mite treatments like formic acid. Some bee scientists are tinkering with CO2, allowing levels to climb enough in hives to kill mites, and not high enough to endanger bees. Others will work with a prototype of an hive “cocoon” that raises internal temperatures to 108 degrees, a level of heat that kills most varroa mites.

Feeding. When weight monitors indicate lower levels of honey, automated hives can release stores of sugar water.

Honey harvesting. When weight levels indicate a great deal of honey, self-harvesting hives can split cells, allowing honey to drain away from specially engineered frames into containers underneath the hives, able to tap by beekeepers.

While smart hives are only start to be adopted by beekeepers, forward thinkers in the marketplace are actually going through the next generation of technology.

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