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Since 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 luxury to evolve slowly, beekeeping must deploy the latest technologies if it’s to perform when confronted with growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use and also the spread of world pathogens. Type in 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 a regular basis, smart hives monitor colonies 24/7, therefore can alert beekeepers towards the requirement for intervention as soon as a problem situation occurs.

“Until the advent of smart hives, beekeeping was 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 can adjust your home’s heat, turn lights don and doff, see who’s at the entry way, all from the cell phone, why don't you carry out the same goes with beehives?” Even though many start to see the economic potential of smart hives-more precise pollinator management might have significant affect the bottom line of farmers, orchardists and commercial beekeepers-Wilson-Rich and his team at Best Bees is most encouraged by their impact on 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, understanding that can often mean a substantial improvement in colony survival rates. That’s victory for everyone in the world.” The first smart hives to be sold utilize solar energy, micro-sensors and smart 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 some cases, bee count. Weight. Monitoring hive weight gives beekeepers a sign from the start and stop of nectar flow, alerting them to the need to feed (when weight is low) and to harvest honey (when weight is high). Comparing weight across hives gives beekeepers a sense the relative productivity of each colony. A spectacular stop by weight can advise that the colony has swarmed, or even the hive continues to be knocked over by animals. Temperature. Monitoring hive temperature can alert beekeepers to dangerous conditions: excessive heat indicating the hive needs to be transferred to a shady spot or ventilated; unusually low heat indicating the hive must be insulated or protected from cold winds. Humidity. While honey production creates a humid environment in hives, excessive humidity, especially in the winter, is usually a danger to colonies. Monitoring humidity levels allow for beekeepers know that moisture build-up is happening, indicating the 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 towards the should ventilate hives. Acoustics. Acoustic monitoring within hives can alert beekeepers with 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 amount of bees entering and leaving a hive can give beekeepers an indication of the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this may indicate nectar flow, and also the have to relocate hives to more productive areas. Mite monitoring. Australian scientists are tinkering with a brand new gateway to hives that where bees entering hives are photographed and analyzed to discover if bees have acquired mites while beyond your hive, alerting beekeepers with the have to treat those hives to avoid mite infestation. A few of the higher (and expensive) smart hives are built to automate high of standard beekeeping work. These range from 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 advise that a colony is getting ready to swarm, automated hives can adjust hive conditions, preventing a swarm from occurring. Mite treatment. When sensors indicate the use of mites, automated hives can release anti-mite treatments for example formic acid. Some bee scientists are tinkering with CO2, allowing levels to climb high enough in hives to kill mites, and not enough to endanger bees. Others operate over 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 low levels 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 empty from specially designed frames into containers beneath the hives, able to tap by beekeepers. While smart hives are simply starting to be adopted by beekeepers, forward thinkers on the market already are going through the next-gen of technology. More info about Cau ong thong minh you can check our new web page