Since the invention from 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 posh to evolve slowly, Cau ong thong minh must deploy the most recent technologies if it’s to perform industry by storm growing habitat loss, pollution, pesticide use and also the spread of world pathogens.

Enter in 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 over a weekly or monthly basis, smart hives monitor colonies 24/7, and so can alert beekeepers for the requirement of intervention the moment a challenge situation occurs.

“Until the arrival 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 in to the Internet of Things. If you can adjust your home’s heat, turn lights on / off, see who’s at your front door, all from your smart phone, have you thought to do the in final summary is beehives?”

While many see the economic potential of smart hives-more precise pollinator management will surely have significant impact on the final outcome of farmers, orchardists and commercial beekeepers-Wilson-Rich and the team at the best Bees is most encouraged by their effect on bee health. “In the U.S. we lose nearly half of our own bee colonies annually.“ Says Wilson-Rich. “Smart hives accommodate more precise monitoring and treatment, and that could mean an important improvement in colony survival rates. That’s success for anyone on the planet.”

The initial smart hives to be removed utilize solar powered energy, micro-sensors and smartphone apps to observe conditions in hives and send reports to beekeepers’ phones for 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 illustration with the stop and start 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 of the relative productivity of each colony. A dramatic drop in weight can claim 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 should be transferred to a shady spot or ventilated; unusually low heat indicating the hive should be insulated or shielded from 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 allow for beekeepers are aware that moisture build-up is occurring, indicating an excuse for better ventilation and water removal.

CO2 levels. While bees can tolerate better levels of CO2 than humans, excessive levels can kill them. Monitoring CO2 levels can alert beekeepers towards the must ventilate hives.

Acoustics. Acoustic monitoring within hives can alert beekeepers into a variety of dangerous situations: specific changes in sound patterns can indicate loosing a queen, swarming tendency, disease, or hive raiding.

Bee count. Counting the volume of bees entering and leaving a hive can provide beekeepers a signal of the size and health of colonies. For commercial beekeepers this will indicate nectar flow, along with the need to relocate hives to easier areas.

Mite monitoring. Australian scientists are trying out a new gateway to hives that where bees entering hives are photographed and analyzed to discover if bees have picked up mites while beyond your hive, alerting beekeepers in the must treat those hives to prevent mite infestation.

A number of the heightened (and expensive) smart hives are built to automate most of standard Thung ong tu chay mat. 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 getting ready to swarm, automated hives can alter hive conditions, preventing a swarm from occurring.

Mite treatment. When sensors indicate the use of mites, automated hives can release anti-mite treatments such as formic acid. Some bee scientists are tinkering with CO2, allowing levels to climb high enough in hives to kill mites, and not adequate to endanger bees. Others operate on a prototype of the hive “cocoon” that raises internal temperatures to 108 degrees, that 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 great deal of honey, self-harvesting hives can split cells, allowing honey to drain from engineered frames into containers under the hives, able to tap by beekeepers.

While smart hives are just starting to be adopted by beekeepers, forward thinkers in the industry are actually going through the next-gen of technology.