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Daniel Riber posted an update 7 months ago
Because the 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 luxury to evolve slowly, beekeeping must deploy the newest technologies if it’s to operate when confronted with growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use and the spread of world pathogens.
Go into 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 regular basis, smart hives monitor colonies 24/7, so can alert beekeepers to the requirement of intervention when a difficulty situation occurs.
“Until the appearance of smart hives, beekeeping really 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 Things. When you can adjust your home’s heat, turn lights on / off, see who’s at your door, all from a smartphone, why not do the same goes with beehives?”
While many start to see the economic potential of smart hives-more precise pollinator management can have significant effect on the final outcome of farmers, orchardists and commercial beekeepers-Wilson-Rich and his awesome team at Best Bees is most encouraged by their effect on bee health. “In the U.S. we lose up to 50 % of our 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 success for everyone on the planet.”
The very first smart hives to be released utilize solar technology, micro-sensors and smart phone apps to observe conditions in hives and send reports to beekeepers’ phones about 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 stop and start of nectar flow, alerting the crooks 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 feeling of the relative productivity of every colony. An impressive drop in weight can claim that the colony has swarmed, or hive continues to be knocked over by animals.
Temperature. Monitoring hive temperature can alert beekeepers to dangerous conditions: excessive heat indicating the hive must be moved to a shady spot or ventilated; unusually low heat indicating the hive should be insulated or protected against cold winds.
Humidity. While honey production creates a humid environment in hives, excessive humidity, specially in the winter, can be a danger to colonies. Monitoring humidity levels 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 to the have to ventilate hives.
Acoustics. Acoustic monitoring within hives can alert beekeepers with a quantity of dangerous situations: specific modifications in sound patterns can indicate the loss of a queen, swarming tendency, disease, or hive raiding.
Bee count. Counting the volume of bees entering and leaving a hive can give beekeepers a sign in the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this can indicate nectar flow, and 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 determine if bees have picked up mites while away from hive, alerting beekeepers with the have to treat those hives to stop mite infestation.
A few of the heightened (and expensive) smart hives are made to automate most of standard beekeeping work. These normally 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 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 the use of mites, automated hives can release anti-mite treatments like formic acid. Some bee scientists are using CO2, allowing levels to climb sufficient in hives to kill mites, although not high enough to endanger bees. Others work on the prototype of your 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 a great deal of honey, self-harvesting hives can split cells, allowing honey to drain beyond specially designed frames into containers underneath 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 looking at the next generation of technology.
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