Considering that the invention in the wooden beehive 150+ years back, there’ve been few innovations in beehive design. But that’s all changing now-at warp speed. Where other industries had the luxurious to evolve slowly, beekeeping must deploy the latest technologies if it’s to function in the face of growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use and the spread of worldwide pathogens.

Enter 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 a regular basis, smart hives monitor colonies 24/7, and thus can alert beekeepers on the requirement of intervention as soon as a challenge 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 into the Internet of Things. If you possibly could adjust your home’s heat, turn lights on / off, see who’s your doorway, all from the smart phone, you will want to perform the same goes with beehives?”

Even though many see the economic potential of smart hives-more precise pollinator management can have significant impact on the bottom line of farmers, orchardists and commercial beekeepers-Wilson-Rich and his team at Best Bees is most encouraged by their affect bee health. “In the U.S. we lose up to 50 % of our own bee colonies annually.“ Says Wilson-Rich. “Smart hives accommodate more precise monitoring and treatment, knowning that could mean an important improvement in colony survival rates. That’s victory for anyone on the planet.”

The 1st smart hives to be sold utilize solar power, micro-sensors and smartphone apps to observe conditions in hives and send reports to beekeepers’ phones for the conditions in every 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 signal with the start and stop of nectar flow, alerting them to the need to feed (when weight is low) also to harvest honey (when weight is high). Comparing weight across hives gives beekeepers a feeling of the relative productivity of every colony. A dramatic drop in weight can suggest that the colony has swarmed, or the hive continues to be 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 ought to be insulated or resistant to cold winds.

Humidity. While honey production generates a humid environment in hives, excessive humidity, specially in the winter, can be quite a danger to colonies. Monitoring humidity levels can let beekeepers realize that moisture build-up is occurring, indicating a need 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 need to ventilate hives.

Acoustics. Acoustic monitoring within hives can alert beekeepers to a number of dangerous situations: specific modifications in sound patterns can often mean 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 an indication of the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this could indicate nectar flow, and the must relocate hives to more productive areas.

Mite monitoring. Australian scientists are experimenting with a fresh gateway to hives that where bees entering hives are photographed and analyzed to find out if bees have found mites while outside of the hive, alerting beekeepers from the should treat those hives in order to avoid mite infestation.

Some of the higher (and expensive) smart hives are created to automate a lot of standard beekeeping work. These range from 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 claim that a colony is preparing to swarm, automated hives can transform hive conditions, preventing a swarm from occurring.

Mite treatment. When sensors indicate a good mites, automated hives can release anti-mite treatments such as formic acid. Some bee scientists are using CO2, allowing levels to climb sufficient in hives to kill mites, however, not enough to endanger bees. Others will work on the prototype of your hive “cocoon” that raises internal temperatures to 108 degrees, a degree 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 an abundance of honey, self-harvesting hives can split cells, allowing honey to drain from engineered frames into containers below the hives, able to tap by beekeepers.

While smart hives are just starting to be adopted by beekeepers, forward thinkers in the market already are going through the next-gen of technology.

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