Smart Bee Hives: A Radical Of Beekeeping

Since invention with 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 posh to evolve slowly, beekeeping must deploy the latest technologies if it’s to perform when confronted with growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use and also the spread of world 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 on a weekly or monthly basis, smart hives monitor colonies 24/7, and thus can alert beekeepers towards the need for intervention as soon as an issue situation occurs.

“Until the advent 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 to the Internet of Things. If you possibly could adjust your home’s heat, turn lights on / off, see who’s for your entry way, all from your mobile phone, why don't you do the do i think the beehives?”

Although begin to see the economic potential of smart hives-more precise pollinator management may have significant influence on the bottom line of farmers, orchardists and commercial beekeepers-Wilson-Rich and the team at Best Bees is most encouraged by their effect on bee health. “In the U.S. we lose almost half individuals bee colonies annually.“ Says Wilson-Rich. “Smart hives allow for more precise monitoring and treatment, understanding that can often mean a tremendous improvement in colony survival rates. That’s victory for everybody in the world.”

The very first smart hives to be removed utilize solar energy, micro-sensors and smartphone apps to watch conditions in hives and send reports to beekeepers’ phones for 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 with the start and stop of nectar flow, alerting these phones the necessity to feed (when weight is low) and also to harvest honey (when weight is high). Comparing weight across hives gives beekeepers a sense of the relative productivity of each and every colony. A remarkable stop by weight can suggest that the colony has swarmed, or even the hive has become knocked over by animals.

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

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

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

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

Bee count. Counting the quantity of bees entering and leaving a hive can provide beekeepers an indication from the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this may indicate nectar flow, and also the must relocate hives to easier areas.

Mite monitoring. Australian scientists are tinkering with a new gateway to hives that where bees entering hives are photographed and analyzed to determine if bees have acquired mites while beyond your hive, alerting beekeepers with the have to treat those hives in order to avoid mite infestation.

A few of the more complex (and costly) smart hives are created to automate high 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 declare that a colony is preparing to swarm, automated hives can adjust 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 high enough in hives to kill mites, and not adequate to endanger bees. Others are working over 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 lower 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 away from specially engineered frames into containers under the hives, ready to tap by beekeepers.

While smart hives are just start to be adopted by beekeepers, forward thinkers in the industry happen to be studying the next-gen of technology.
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Pub: 03 Apr 2024 17:51 UTC
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