Because the invention from 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 latest technologies if it’s to work when confronted with growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use and the spread of global 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 for the requirement for intervention the moment a difficulty situation occurs.

“Until the appearance 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 in to the Internet of Things. If you possibly could adjust your home’s heat, turn lights don and doff, see who’s at your entry way, all coming from a cell phone, you will want to perform the do i think the beehives?”

Although understand the economic potential of smart hives-more precise pollinator management will surely 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 in our bee colonies each and every year.“ Says Wilson-Rich. “Smart hives enable more precise monitoring and treatment, which can often mean a tremendous improvement in colony survival rates. That’s a win for anyone on earth.”

The first smart hives to be sold utilize solar powered energy, micro-sensors and cell phone apps to evaluate 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 even, bee count.

Weight. Monitoring hive weight gives beekeepers an illustration from the start and stop of nectar flow, alerting them to the call 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 drop in weight can claim that the colony has swarmed, or even the hive has been knocked over by animals.

Temperature. Monitoring hive temperature can alert beekeepers to dangerous conditions: excessive heat indicating the hive ought to be moved to a shady spot or ventilated; unusually low heat indicating the hive must be insulated or shielded from 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 understand that moisture build-up is happening, indicating any excuses for better ventilation and water removal.

CO2 levels. While bees can tolerate better amounts 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 to some variety of dangerous situations: specific alterations in sound patterns can indicate losing a queen, swarming tendency, disease, or hive raiding.

Bee count. Counting the volume of bees entering and leaving a hive can provide beekeepers an indication from the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this can indicate nectar flow, along with the must relocate hives to more lucrative areas.

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

Many of the higher (and expensive) smart hives are built to automate most of standard beekeeping work. These may include environmental control, swarm prevention, mite treatment and honey harvesting.

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

Swarm prevention. When weight and acoustic monitoring suggest that a colony is getting ready 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 such as formic acid. Some bee scientists are trying out CO2, allowing levels to climb enough in hives to kill mites, and not high enough to endanger bees. Others are working with a prototype of an hive “cocoon” that raises internal temperatures to 108 degrees, a level of heat that kills most varroa mites.

Feeding. When weight monitors indicate ‘abnormal’ amounts 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 out of specially engineered frames into containers under the hives, prepared to tap by beekeepers.

While smart hives are only beginning to be adopted by beekeepers, forward thinkers in the market already are looking at the next-gen of technology.

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