Smart Bee Hives: A Considerable Of Beekeeping

Since the invention with the wooden beehive 150+ years ago, 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 facing growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use as well as the spread of global 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 so can alert beekeepers to the requirement for intervention when a problem situation occurs.

“Until the advent of smart hives, beekeeping was actually an analog process.” Says our founder and Chief Science Officer, Dr. Noah Wilson-Rich. “With technology we’re bringing bees in the Internet of Things. If you possibly could adjust your home’s heat, turn lights don and doff, see who’s your doorway, all from your mobile phone, have you thought to perform in final summary is beehives?” Although many see the economic potential of smart hives-more precise pollinator management might have significant influence on tha harsh truth of farmers, orchardists and commercial beekeepers-Wilson-Rich and his awesome team at Best Bees is most encouraged by their affect bee health. “In the U.S. we lose up to 50 % in our bee colonies each year.“ Says Wilson-Rich. “Smart hives enable more precise monitoring and treatment, knowning that could mean a tremendous improvement in colony survival rates. That’s victory for anyone on the planet.” The 1st smart hives to be removed utilize solar power, micro-sensors and smartphone apps to watch conditions in hives and send reports to beekeepers’ phones on the conditions in each hive. Most smart hive systems include monitors that measure hive weight, temperature, humidity, CO2 levels, acoustics and perhaps, bee count. Weight. Monitoring hive weight gives beekeepers an illustration with the stop and start of nectar flow, alerting the crooks to the need to feed (when weight is low) also to harvest honey (when weight is high). Comparing weight across hives gives beekeepers a sense the relative productivity of each colony. A dramatic stop by weight can claim that the colony has swarmed, or hive may be knocked over by animals. Temperature. Monitoring hive temperature can alert beekeepers to dangerous conditions: excessive heat indicating the hive must be gone after a shady spot or ventilated; unusually low heat indicating the hive needs to be insulated or shielded from cold winds. Humidity. While honey production creates a humid environment in hives, excessive humidity, especially in the winter, could be a danger to colonies. Monitoring humidity levels let beekeepers realize that moisture build-up is going on, 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 for the need to ventilate hives. Acoustics. Acoustic monitoring within hives can alert beekeepers into a quantity of dangerous situations: specific changes 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 provide beekeepers an indication in the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this may indicate nectar flow, as well as the should relocate hives to more fortunate areas. Mite monitoring. Australian scientists are trying out a whole new gateway to hives that where bees entering hives are photographed and analyzed to find out if bees have acquired mites while away from hive, alerting beekeepers of the have to treat those hives to prevent mite infestation. A few of the higher (and costly) smart hives are designed to automate high of standard beekeeping work. These may include environmental control, swarm prevention, mite treatment and honey harvesting. Environmental control. When data indicate a hive is 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 a good mites, automated hives can release anti-mite treatments such as formic acid. Some bee scientists are experimenting with CO2, allowing levels to climb sufficient in hives to kill mites, and not enough to endanger bees. Others are working on a prototype of an hive “cocoon” that raises internal temperatures to 108 degrees, a degree of heat that kills most varroa mites. Feeding. When weight monitors indicate lower levels 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 beyond engineered frames into containers underneath the hives, willing to tap by beekeepers. While smart hives are simply start to be adopted by beekeepers, forward thinkers in the marketplace are already going through the next generation of technology. To learn more about Thung ong thong minh you can check our new web site