Since the invention of the wooden beehive 150+ in years 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 most recent technologies if it’s to operate in the face of growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use along with the spread of global pathogens.

Type in the “Smart Hive”

-a system of scientific bee care built to precisely monitor and manage conditions in hives. Where traditional beekeepers might visit each hive on the weekly or monthly basis, smart hives monitor colonies 24/7, and so can alert beekeepers to the dependence on intervention when an issue situation occurs.

“Until the arrival of smart hives, beekeeping was actually 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’re able to adjust your home’s heat, turn lights on and off, see who’s for your entry way, all from your mobile phone, why don’t you perform in final summary is beehives?”

While many 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 the team at the best Bees is most encouraged by their effect on bee health. “In the U.S. we lose nearly half of our bee colonies annually.“ 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 a win for anyone on the planet.”

The very first smart hives to be removed utilize solar power, micro-sensors and cell phone 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 even, bee count.

Weight. Monitoring hive weight gives beekeepers a sign of the stop and start of nectar flow, alerting the crooks to the need to feed (when weight is low) and to harvest honey (when weight is high). Comparing weight across hives gives beekeepers a feeling of the relative productivity of every colony. A remarkable stop by weight can claim that the colony has swarmed, or hive has been knocked over by animals.

Temperature. Monitoring hive temperature can alert beekeepers to dangerous conditions: excessive heat indicating the hive needs to be moved to a shady spot or ventilated; unusually low heat indicating the hive needs to be insulated or shielded from cold winds.

Humidity. While honey production generates a humid environment in hives, excessive humidity, specially in the winter, is usually a danger to colonies. Monitoring humidity levels let beekeepers know that moisture build-up is going on, indicating an excuse for better ventilation and water removal.

CO2 levels. While bees can tolerate much higher levels of CO2 than humans, excessive levels can kill them. Monitoring CO2 levels can alert beekeepers on the have to ventilate hives.

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

Bee count. Counting the number of bees entering and leaving a hive will give beekeepers an illustration with the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this can indicate nectar flow, along with the need to relocate hives to more productive areas.

Mite monitoring. Australian scientists are trying out a whole new gateway to hives that where bees entering hives are photographed and analyzed to discover if bees have grabbed mites while outside the hive, alerting beekeepers from the must treat those hives to stop mite infestation.

A few of the heightened (and expensive) smart hives are designed to automate much of standard beekeeping work. These may 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 advise that a colony is preparing to swarm, automated hives can change hive conditions, preventing a swarm from occurring.

Mite treatment. When sensors indicate the use of mites, automated hives can release anti-mite treatments including formic acid. Some bee scientists are tinkering with CO2, allowing levels to climb enough in hives to kill mites, but not sufficient to endanger bees. Others are working with a prototype of your 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 loads of honey, self-harvesting hives can split cells, allowing honey to empty beyond engineered frames into containers underneath the hives, able to tap by beekeepers.

While smart hives are merely start to be adopted by beekeepers, forward thinkers in the market happen to be studying the next-gen of technology.

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