Smart Bee Hives: A Radical Of Beekeeping
Author : Kazuki Novak | Published On : 03 Apr 2024
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 posh to evolve slowly, Cau ong thong minh must deploy the most recent technologies if it’s to operate facing growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use as well as the spread of global 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 the weekly or monthly basis, smart hives monitor colonies 24/7, and so can alert beekeepers to the dependence on intervention as soon as a difficulty situation occurs.
“Until the advent of smart hives, beekeeping was really 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 products. If you're able to adjust your home’s heat, turn lights on and off, see who’s your front door, all coming from a smartphone, you will want to perform the same with beehives?”
Even though many understand the economic potential of smart hives-more precise pollinator management may have significant impact on tha harsh truth of farmers, orchardists and commercial beekeepers-Wilson-Rich and his awesome team at Best Bees is most encouraged by their influence on bee health. “In the U.S. we lose nearly half of our own bee colonies each and every year.“ Says Wilson-Rich. “Smart hives allow for more precise monitoring and treatment, which could mean a substantial improvement in colony survival rates. That’s a win for anyone on earth.”
The first smart hives to be sold utilize solar power, micro-sensors and smart phone apps to observe conditions in hives and send reports to beekeepers’ phones about the conditions in every hive. Most smart hive systems include monitors that measure hive weight, temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, acoustics and in many 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) also to harvest honey (when weight is high). Comparing weight across hives gives beekeepers a feeling of the relative productivity of each one colony. A dramatic stop by weight can claim that the colony has swarmed, or 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 makes a humid environment in hives, excessive humidity, specially in the winter, is usually a danger to colonies. Monitoring humidity levels allow beekeepers are aware that moisture build-up is happening, indicating the 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 to the should ventilate hives.
Acoustics. Acoustic monitoring within hives can alert beekeepers with a number of dangerous situations: specific alterations in sound patterns can often mean losing a queen, swarming tendency, disease, or hive raiding.
Bee count. Counting the quantity of bees entering and leaving a hive may give beekeepers an illustration from the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this may indicate nectar flow, as well as the should relocate hives to more lucrative areas.
Mite monitoring. Australian scientists are tinkering with a brand new gateway to hives that where bees entering hives are photographed and analyzed to determine if bees have acquired mites while outside of the hive, alerting beekeepers in the need to treat those hives to prevent mite infestation.
A few of the more advanced (and costly) smart hives are built to automate much of standard Thung ong thong minh. 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 suggest that a colony is getting ready 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 like formic acid. Some bee scientists are trying out CO2, allowing levels to climb adequate in hives to kill mites, and not sufficient to endanger bees. Others work over a 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 empty out of specially designed frames into containers under the hives, prepared to tap by beekeepers.
While smart hives are only start to be adopted by beekeepers, forward thinkers on the market happen to be studying the next generation of technology.
