Since invention with 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 luxurious to evolve slowly, beekeeping must deploy the latest technologies if it’s to function industry by storm growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use as well as the spread of world pathogens.
Enter the “Smart Hive”
-a system of scientific bee care meant to precisely monitor and manage conditions in hives. Where traditional beekeepers might visit each hive over a regular basis, smart hives monitor colonies 24/7, and thus can alert beekeepers on the requirement of intervention when a problem situation occurs.
“Until the arrival of smart hives, beekeeping really was 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 Things. If you're able to adjust your home’s heat, turn lights on and off, see who’s your door, all from a mobile phone, have you thought to do the same goes with beehives?”
Although begin to see the economic potential of smart hives-more precise pollinator management can have significant affect tha harsh truth of farmers, orchardists and commercial beekeepers-Wilson-Rich and his team at Best Bees is most encouraged by their affect bee health. “In the U.S. we lose nearly half of our bee colonies annually.“ Says Wilson-Rich. “Smart hives accommodate more precise monitoring and treatment, understanding that could mean a significant improvement in colony survival rates. That’s success for all on earth.”
The very first smart hives to be removed utilize solar technology, micro-sensors and mobile phone 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 in some cases, bee count.
Weight. Monitoring hive weight gives beekeepers an indication in the stop and start 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 of the relative productivity of each and every colony. A remarkable drop in weight can advise that the colony has swarmed, or perhaps 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 gone after a shady spot or ventilated; unusually low heat indicating the hive ought to be insulated or resistant to cold winds.
Humidity. While honey production creates a humid environment in hives, excessive humidity, mainly in the winter, could be a danger to colonies. Monitoring humidity levels let beekeepers know that moisture build-up is going on, indicating the need for better ventilation and water removal.
CO2 levels. While bees can tolerate higher numbers of CO2 than humans, excessive levels can kill them. Monitoring CO2 levels can alert beekeepers for the must ventilate hives.
Acoustics. Acoustic monitoring within hives can alert beekeepers into a quantity of dangerous situations: specific adjustments to sound patterns can indicate the loss of a queen, swarming tendency, disease, or hive raiding.
Bee count. Counting the number of bees entering and leaving a hive can give beekeepers a signal with the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this will indicate nectar flow, as well as the must relocate hives to more productive areas.
Mite monitoring. Australian scientists are experimenting with a new gateway to hives that where bees entering hives are photographed and analyzed to ascertain if bees have picked up mites while outside of the hive, alerting beekeepers in the must treat those hives to prevent mite infestation.
Many of the higher (and expensive) smart hives are made to automate a lot of standard beekeeping work. These normally include environmental control, swarm prevention, mite treatment and honey harvesting.
Environmental control. When data indicate a hive is just 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 a good mites, automated hives can release anti-mite treatments like formic acid. Some bee scientists are using CO2, allowing levels to climb sufficient in hives to kill mites, but not enough to endanger bees. Others operate on the 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 an abundance of honey, self-harvesting hives can split cells, allowing honey to empty beyond specifically created frames into containers under the hives, willing to tap by beekeepers.
While smart hives are merely starting to be adopted by beekeepers, forward thinkers on the market happen to be studying the next-gen of technology.
For more information about Thung ong thong minh you can check this popular web site