Because the invention of 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 luxury to evolve slowly, beekeeping must deploy the most recent technologies if it’s to perform facing growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use along with the spread of worldwide pathogens.
Enter in 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 over a weekly or monthly basis, smart hives monitor colonies 24/7, therefore can alert beekeepers to the dependence on intervention when a problem situation occurs.
“Until the arrival of smart hives, beekeeping was a mechanical process.” Says our founder and Chief Science Officer, Dr. Noah Wilson-Rich. “With technology we’re bringing bees into the Internet of products. When you can adjust your home’s heat, turn lights off and on, see who’s for your door, all coming from a smartphone, why don't you carry out the same with beehives?”
Although many start to see the economic potential of smart hives-more precise pollinator management may have significant affect the final outcome of farmers, orchardists and commercial beekeepers-Wilson-Rich and his team at the best Bees is most encouraged by their influence on bee health. “In the U.S. we lose almost half of our bee colonies each year.“ Says Wilson-Rich. “Smart hives enable more precise monitoring and treatment, knowning that could mean a substantial improvement in colony survival rates. That’s a win for all in the world.”
The very first smart hives to be sold utilize solar technology, micro-sensors and mobile phone apps to evaluate conditions in hives and send reports to beekeepers’ phones for 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 a signal from the stop and start of nectar flow, alerting them to the necessity to feed (when weight is low) also to harvest honey (when weight is high). Comparing weight across hives gives beekeepers a sense of the relative productivity of every colony. A spectacular drop in weight can declare that the colony has swarmed, or even the hive may be knocked over by animals.
Temperature. Monitoring hive temperature can alert beekeepers to dangerous conditions: excessive heat indicating the hive must be transferred to a shady spot or ventilated; unusually low heat indicating the hive needs to be insulated or protected against cold winds.
Humidity. While honey production creates a humid environment in hives, excessive humidity, especially in the winter, can be quite a danger to colonies. Monitoring humidity levels let beekeepers are aware that moisture build-up is happening, indicating an excuse for better ventilation and water removal.
CO2 levels. While bees can tolerate better levels of CO2 than humans, excessive levels can kill them. Monitoring CO2 levels can alert beekeepers on the must ventilate hives.
Acoustics. Acoustic monitoring within hives can alert beekeepers with a number of dangerous situations: specific modifications in sound patterns can often mean loosing a queen, swarming tendency, disease, or hive raiding.
Bee count. Counting the volume of bees entering and leaving a hive will give beekeepers a sign with the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this may indicate nectar flow, along with the have to relocate hives to more productive areas.
Mite monitoring. Australian scientists are experimenting with a brand new gateway to hives that where bees entering hives are photographed and analyzed to determine if bees have acquired mites while outside of the hive, alerting beekeepers of the need to treat those hives to prevent mite infestation.
Some of the more advanced (and dear) 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 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 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 a good mites, automated hives can release anti-mite treatments including formic acid. Some bee scientists are experimenting with CO2, allowing levels to climb adequate in hives to kill mites, however, not high enough to endanger bees. Others work over a prototype of a hive “cocoon” that raises internal temperatures to 108 degrees, a level 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 empty out of specially engineered frames into containers underneath the hives, able to tap by beekeepers.
While smart hives are simply starting out be adopted by beekeepers, forward thinkers in the industry are already going through the next generation of technology.
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