Three Ideas for Saving Bee Communities with IoT

1. Three Ideas for Saving Bee Communities with IoT The Internet of Things (IoT) is helping nature-based entrepreneurs tackle some of their most pressing environmental challenges by bridging the gap between technology and the natural world. Consider the situation with bees. Between 2015 and 2016, beekeepers lost more than 44% of their colonies to Colony Collapse Disorder. With a high average of 15%, this new data indicates an abnormally high rate of yearly colony loss, indicating a major problem with honey bee health, which, in turn, threatens the world food supply of all product items that require pollination. As a result of these losses, entrepreneurs are leveraging IoT to assist beekeepers in monitoring and saving their colonies. The accurate, real-time data obtained through IoT monitoring can help beekeepers develop a more detailed understanding of bee activity within their colonies. Beekeepers can see indicators of common bee health concerns like American Foulbrood bacteria and Varroa mite parasites by observing bee behavior patterns in real-time. Beekeepers can prevent Colony Collapse Disorder by detecting hive issues before or as they arise. Three innovative ways that beekeepers are using IoT to help rescue bees are illustrated in the following technologies. IoT Micro-Climate Control within Beehives Micro-climate monitoring is a common use of IoT, in which linked sensors collect data and give insights into the environment of extremely narrow locations. In real-time, temperature and humidity data, as well as data on other climatic parameters, may be gathered and analyzed. Beekeepers are employing this technology to keep an eye on their hives from afar. Sensors installed within the hives track humidity and temperature, two environmental variables that can have a substantial impact on bee health. When the humidity or temperature rises to an

2. uncomfortable level, beekeepers can receive an immediate signal and issue a remote command to modify the environment. Bee Behavior Monitoring Tracking data from these related bees can be used by IoT monitoring software to provide fascinating insights into bee health and behavior, such as every pollen or nectar gathering trip a single bee takes over the course of its lifetime. Signature behavior patterns may be learned over time so that if the behavior of the bees changes, beekeepers can be alerted to a potential health risk, which can then be explored. In the same way, small microphones inserted in a beehive may capture acoustic data on the bees' daily activities. The sound frequencies and vibrations produced by regular bee activity can be learned and when noises from the beehives change, beekeepers can swiftly investigate to see if the shift in frequencies indicates bee conflict. Remote monitoring IoT Beehives are a great way to monitor crops, but they can be difficult to maintain. With the help of remote monitoring IoT, however, it's now possible to keep tabs on your beehives from anywhere in the world. Using sensors and cameras, you can monitor everything from the health of the bees to their behavior. This information can be used to make better decisions about beekeeping, and you can even share the data with other farmers to learn from each other. In the beehive, IoT sensors can detect the phases of the bee brood's reproductive cycle and determine when the cells have been capped. Once the sensors detect that the cells have been sealed, a signal is delivered to a device that uses heat to sterilize mite eggs without harming the bees or their larvae. These networked sensors and heat activators have the potential to save thousands of hives throughout the world by reducing sickness within the hive. One of the benefits of having a beehive box is that it can be monitored remotely. This means that you can stay up-to-date on all of the activities in your hive without having to be there in person. You can also use this information to make decisions about the health and well-being of your bees. For example, if you see that there is a problem with one of your bees, you can contact a beekeeper to take care of it.