Smart Bee Hives: A Revolutionary Of Beekeeping
Since 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 luxury to evolve slowly, beekeeping must deploy the latest technologies if it’s to function industry by storm growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use and also the spread of worldwide pathogens. Enter 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 thus can alert beekeepers for the dependence on intervention as soon as a difficulty situation occurs.
“Until the advent of smart hives, beekeeping really was an analog 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 possibly could adjust your home’s heat, turn lights off and on, see who’s for your door, all from the smart phone, you will want to do the same goes with beehives?” Although many understand the economic potential of smart hives-more precise pollinator management can have significant affect the final outcome of farmers, orchardists and commercial beekeepers-Wilson-Rich with his fantastic team at the best Bees is most encouraged by their affect bee health. “In the U.S. we lose almost half of our bee colonies each and every year.“ Says Wilson-Rich. “Smart hives permit more precise monitoring and treatment, knowning that can often mean a tremendous improvement in colony survival rates. That’s success for everyone on earth.” The first smart hives to be sold utilize solar energy, 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 perhaps, bee count. Weight. Monitoring hive weight gives beekeepers an illustration in the start and stop of nectar flow, alerting these phones the need to feed (when weight is low) and also to harvest honey (when weight is high). Comparing weight across hives gives beekeepers a sense the relative productivity of each and every 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 needs to be moved to a shady spot or ventilated; unusually low heat indicating the hive should be insulated or resistant to cold winds. Humidity. While honey production generates a humid environment in hives, excessive humidity, mainly in the winter, can be a danger to colonies. Monitoring humidity levels let beekeepers realize that moisture build-up is going on, indicating an excuse 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 on the should ventilate hives. Acoustics. Acoustic monitoring within hives can alert beekeepers to a number of dangerous situations: specific adjustments to sound patterns can indicate losing a queen, swarming tendency, disease, or hive raiding. Bee count. Counting the volume of bees entering and leaving a hive may give beekeepers a sign of the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this may indicate nectar flow, along with the need to relocate hives to more fortunate areas. Mite monitoring. Australian scientists are experimenting with a whole new 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 need to treat those hives in order to avoid mite infestation. Some of the more complex (and dear) smart hives are created to automate high of standard beekeeping work. These normally include environmental control, swarm prevention, mite treatment and honey harvesting. Environmental control. When data indicate a hive is simply too warm, humid or has CO2 build-up, automated hives can self-ventilate, optimizing internal environmental conditions. Swarm prevention. When weight and acoustic monitoring declare that a colony is preparing to swarm, automated hives can alter hive conditions, preventing a swarm from occurring. Mite treatment. When sensors indicate the existence of mites, automated hives can release anti-mite treatments like formic acid. Some bee scientists are experimenting with CO2, allowing levels to climb sufficient in hives to kill mites, however, not sufficient to endanger bees. Others will work on the prototype of an hive “cocoon” that raises internal temperatures to 108 degrees, that 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 loads of honey, self-harvesting hives can split cells, allowing honey to drain out of specially designed frames into containers below the hives, willing to tap by beekeepers. While smart hives are merely starting out be adopted by beekeepers, forward thinkers on the market already are exploring the next-gen of technology. For more information about Thung ong thong minh take a look at our webpage