Because the invention in the wooden beehive 150+ years back, there’ve been few innovations in beehive design. But that’s all changing now-at warp speed. Where other industries had the posh to evolve slowly, beekeeping must deploy the most recent technologies if it’s to function industry by storm growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use as well as the spread of worldwide pathogens.

Go into the “Smart Hive”

-a system of scientific bee care meant 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, and so can alert beekeepers on the dependence on intervention as soon as a difficulty 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 the Internet of products. If you can adjust your home’s heat, turn lights off and on, see who’s at the doorway, all from a smartphone, why not perform the same with beehives?”

Although many start to see the economic potential of smart hives-more precise pollinator management may have significant affect the bottom line 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 in our bee colonies every year.“ Says Wilson-Rich. “Smart hives accommodate more precise monitoring and treatment, understanding that can often mean an important improvement in colony survival rates. That’s victory for everybody on earth.”

The first smart hives to be released utilize solar technology, micro-sensors and smart phone apps to monitor conditions in hives and send reports to beekeepers’ phones about the conditions in every hive. Most smart hive systems include monitors that measure hive weight, temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, acoustics and even, bee count.

Weight. Monitoring hive weight gives beekeepers an illustration of the start and stop of nectar flow, alerting them to the requirement to feed (when weight is low) and harvest honey (when weight is high). Comparing weight across hives gives beekeepers a sense of the relative productivity of each colony. A remarkable stop by weight can suggest that the colony has swarmed, or the hive may be knocked over by animals.

Temperature. Monitoring hive temperature can alert beekeepers to dangerous conditions: excessive heat indicating the hive should be gone to live in a shady spot or ventilated; unusually low heat indicating the hive should be insulated or protected from cold winds.

Humidity. While honey production makes a humid environment in hives, excessive humidity, specially in the winter, can be quite a danger to colonies. Monitoring humidity levels can let beekeepers know that moisture build-up is happening, indicating any excuses for better ventilation and water removal.

CO2 levels. While bees can tolerate much higher amounts of CO2 than humans, excessive levels can kill them. Monitoring CO2 levels can alert beekeepers for the need to ventilate hives.

Acoustics. Acoustic monitoring within hives can alert beekeepers with a amount of dangerous situations: specific adjustments to sound patterns can indicate the loss of a queen, swarming tendency, disease, or hive raiding.

Bee count. Counting the volume of bees entering and leaving a hive will give beekeepers a signal with the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this will indicate nectar flow, and the need to relocate hives to easier areas.

Mite monitoring. Australian scientists are trying out a whole new gateway to hives that where bees entering hives are photographed and analyzed to ascertain if bees have grabbed mites while outside of the hive, alerting beekeepers from the have to treat those hives in order to avoid mite infestation.

Some of the heightened (and costly) smart hives are made to automate much of standard beekeeping work. These range from environmental control, swarm prevention, mite treatment and honey harvesting.

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

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

Mite treatment. When sensors indicate the existence of mites, automated hives can release anti-mite treatments such as formic acid. Some bee scientists are experimenting with CO2, allowing levels to climb sufficient in hives to kill mites, but not adequate to endanger bees. Others are working over a prototype of a hive “cocoon” that raises internal temperatures to 108 degrees, a degree of heat that kills most varroa mites.

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

Honey harvesting. When weight levels indicate a good amount of honey, self-harvesting hives can split cells, allowing honey to drain beyond specially engineered frames into containers below the hives, able to tap by beekeepers.

While smart hives are merely starting to be adopted by beekeepers, forward thinkers in the industry are already going through the next-gen of technology.

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