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Because the invention from 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 posh to evolve slowly, beekeeping must deploy the latest technologies if it’s to work industry by storm growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use and also the spread of world pathogens. Enter the “Smart Hive” -a system of scientific bee care designed 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 thus can alert beekeepers to the dependence on intervention the moment a problem situation occurs.

“Until the appearance of smart hives, beekeeping was really an analog 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're able to adjust your home’s heat, turn lights on / off, see who’s at your entry way, all from a cell phone, why don't you perform in final summary is beehives?” While many start to see the economic potential of smart hives-more precise pollinator management will surely have significant affect the conclusion of farmers, orchardists and commercial beekeepers-Wilson-Rich and the team at Best Bees is most encouraged by their influence on bee health. “In the U.S. we lose almost half of our own bee colonies every year.“ Says Wilson-Rich. “Smart hives accommodate more precise monitoring and treatment, and that can often mean a substantial improvement in colony survival rates. That’s victory for anyone on the planet.” The initial smart hives to be sold utilize solar energy, micro-sensors and mobile phone apps to watch 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 in many cases, bee count. Weight. Monitoring hive weight gives beekeepers a signal of the stop and start of nectar flow, alerting the crooks to the necessity to feed (when weight is low) and harvest honey (when weight is high). Comparing weight across hives gives beekeepers feeling of the relative productivity of each colony. A dramatic stop by weight can suggest that the colony has swarmed, or the hive has become knocked over by animals. Temperature. Monitoring hive temperature can alert beekeepers to dangerous conditions: excessive heat indicating the hive ought to be gone to live in a shady spot or ventilated; unusually low heat indicating the hive needs to be insulated or protected against cold winds. Humidity. While honey production produces a humid environment in hives, excessive humidity, specially in the winter, is usually a danger to colonies. Monitoring humidity levels let beekeepers are aware that moisture build-up is going on, indicating a need for better ventilation and water removal. CO2 levels. While bees can tolerate much higher degrees of CO2 than humans, excessive levels can kill them. Monitoring CO2 levels can alert beekeepers to the need to ventilate hives. Acoustics. Acoustic monitoring within hives can alert beekeepers to a quantity of dangerous situations: specific adjustments to sound patterns can often mean losing a queen, swarming tendency, disease, or hive raiding. Bee count. Counting the volume of bees entering and leaving a hive can provide beekeepers an illustration with the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this could indicate nectar flow, and the have to 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 picked up mites while outside the hive, alerting beekeepers from the should treat those hives in order to avoid mite infestation. Many of the more complex (and expensive) smart hives are designed to automate most of standard beekeeping work. These can 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 claim that a colony is preparing to swarm, automated hives can adjust hive conditions, preventing a swarm from occurring. Mite treatment. When sensors indicate the existence of mites, automated hives can release anti-mite treatments for example formic acid. Some bee scientists are tinkering with CO2, allowing levels to climb sufficient in hives to kill mites, however, not enough to endanger bees. Others are working on a prototype of a hive “cocoon” that raises internal temperatures to 108 degrees, a level 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 specially designed frames into containers under the hives, willing to tap by beekeepers. While smart hives are just beginning to be adopted by beekeepers, forward thinkers on the market are already studying the next generation of technology. For more information about Cau ong thong minh see our new web portal