Because the invention in the wooden beehive 150+ in years past, there’ve been few innovations in beehive design. But that’s all changing now-at warp speed. Where other industries had the luxury to evolve slowly, beekeeping must deploy the newest technologies if it’s to perform facing growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use and also the spread of global pathogens.
Enter the “Smart Hive”
-a system of scientific bee care designed to precisely monitor and manage conditions in hives. Where traditional beekeepers might visit each hive on the weekly or monthly basis, smart hives monitor colonies 24/7, so can alert beekeepers on the dependence on intervention as soon as a difficulty situation occurs.
“Until the advent of smart hives, beekeeping was really an analog process.” Says our founder and Chief Science Officer, Dr. Noah Wilson-Rich. “With technology we’re bringing bees into the Internet of products. If you're able to adjust your home’s heat, turn lights on / off, see who’s at the door, all from your cell phone, you will want to perform the in final summary is beehives?”
While many understand the economic potential of smart hives-more precise pollinator management can have significant impact on tha harsh truth of farmers, orchardists and commercial beekeepers-Wilson-Rich and his team at Best Bees is most encouraged by their influence on bee health. “In the U.S. we lose almost half of our own bee colonies every year.“ Says Wilson-Rich. “Smart hives permit more precise monitoring and treatment, understanding that can often mean a tremendous improvement in colony survival rates. That’s victory for everyone on the planet.”
The initial smart hives to be released utilize solar energy, micro-sensors and smart phone apps to evaluate conditions in hives and send reports to beekeepers’ phones on the conditions in every 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 signal in the start and stop of nectar flow, alerting them to the necessity to feed (when weight is low) and to harvest honey (when weight is high). Comparing weight across hives gives beekeepers a feeling of the relative productivity of every colony. A remarkable drop in weight can claim that the colony has swarmed, or the hive has become knocked over by animals.
Temperature. Monitoring hive temperature can alert beekeepers to dangerous conditions: excessive heat indicating the hive must be gone to live in a shady spot or ventilated; unusually low heat indicating the hive must be insulated or protected from cold winds.
Humidity. While honey production makes a humid environment in hives, excessive humidity, specially in the winter, could be a danger to colonies. Monitoring humidity levels let beekeepers realize that moisture build-up is going on, indicating an excuse for better ventilation and water removal.
CO2 levels. While bees can tolerate greater numbers of CO2 than humans, excessive levels can kill them. Monitoring CO2 levels can alert beekeepers towards the must ventilate hives.
Acoustics. Acoustic monitoring within hives can alert beekeepers to some variety of dangerous situations: specific alterations in sound patterns could mean loosing a queen, swarming tendency, disease, or hive raiding.
Bee count. Counting the number of bees entering and leaving a hive can provide beekeepers an indication with the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this can indicate nectar flow, as well as the must relocate hives to more lucrative areas.
Mite monitoring. Australian scientists are trying out a whole new gateway to hives that where bees entering hives are photographed and analyzed to find out if bees have found mites while away from hive, alerting beekeepers from the should treat those hives in order to avoid mite infestation.
A few of the heightened (and expensive) smart hives are made to automate high of standard beekeeping work. These can include environmental control, swarm prevention, mite treatment and honey harvesting.
Environmental control. When data indicate a hive is way too warm, humid or has CO2 build-up, automated hives can self-ventilate, optimizing internal environmental conditions.
Swarm prevention. When weight and acoustic monitoring claim 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 use of mites, automated hives can release anti-mite treatments for example formic acid. Some bee scientists are experimenting with CO2, allowing levels to climb sufficient in hives to kill mites, however, not enough to endanger bees. Others operate on a prototype of an hive “cocoon” that raises internal temperatures to 108 degrees, that 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 an abundance of honey, self-harvesting hives can split cells, allowing honey to empty beyond engineered frames into containers beneath the hives, prepared to tap by beekeepers.
While smart hives are merely starting out be adopted by beekeepers, forward thinkers in the market are actually exploring the next generation of technology.
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