Considering that the invention in the wooden beehive 150+ in the 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 operate in the face of growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use along with the spread of global pathogens.

Enter 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, therefore can alert beekeepers towards the requirement of intervention the moment a problem situation occurs.

“Until the arrival of smart hives, beekeeping really was an analog process.” Says our founder and Chief Science Officer, Dr. Noah Wilson-Rich. “With technology we’re bringing bees in to the Internet of Things. When you can adjust your home’s heat, turn lights don and doff, see who’s at your doorway, all from your mobile phone, why not do the same goes with beehives?”

Although start to see the economic potential of smart hives-more precise pollinator management will surely have significant influence on the conclusion of farmers, orchardists and commercial beekeepers-Wilson-Rich and his awesome team at the best Bees is most encouraged by their impact on bee health. “In the U.S. we lose up to 50 % in our bee colonies every year.“ Says Wilson-Rich. “Smart hives allow for more precise monitoring and treatment, knowning that can often mean an important improvement in colony survival rates. That’s success for all on the planet.”

The initial smart hives to be removed utilize solar power, micro-sensors and cell phone apps to monitor conditions in hives and send reports to beekeepers’ phones around the conditions in each hive. Most smart hive systems include monitors that measure hive weight, temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, acoustics and in many cases, bee count.

Weight. Monitoring hive weight gives beekeepers a sign from the start and stop of nectar flow, alerting the crooks to the requirement 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 each colony. A spectacular drop in weight can claim that the colony has swarmed, or perhaps 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 transferred to a shady spot or ventilated; unusually low heat indicating the hive ought to be insulated or protected against cold winds.

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

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

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

Bee count. Counting the number of bees entering and leaving a hive can provide beekeepers a sign with the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this could indicate nectar flow, along with the must relocate hives to more productive areas.

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

A few of the higher (and expensive) smart hives are created to automate a lot of standard beekeeping work. These may 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 advise that a colony is getting ready to swarm, automated hives can alter hive conditions, preventing a swarm from occurring.

Mite treatment. When sensors indicate a good mites, automated hives can release anti-mite treatments for example formic acid. Some bee scientists are tinkering with CO2, allowing levels to climb enough in hives to kill mites, however, not sufficient to endanger bees. Others will work on the prototype of an hive “cocoon” that raises internal temperatures to 108 degrees, that 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 empty away from specifically created frames into containers underneath the hives, ready to tap by beekeepers.

While smart hives are merely starting to be adopted by beekeepers, forward thinkers in the industry happen to be looking at the next generation of technology.

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