Smart Beekeeping Systems

“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would have only four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” – Albert Einstein

Bees are the predominant pollinators of the planet being responsible for the pollination of nearly three quarters of the plants that produce over 90% of the world’s food (WorldBeeDay.Org, 2018)! Over the past fifty years, the number of crops that depend on pollinators has tripled (WorldBeeDay.Org, 2018). A study conducted in 2016 by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services found that the annual global production of food that depends directly on pollination was worth between $235 and $577 billion (Lumpur, 2016)! Consequently, one can conclude that the role of bees as pollinators is crucial for the abundant supply of food for humankind.

Bees are responsible for the production of honey, beeswax, royal jelly, pollen, propolis and bee venom which are commonly used in a mixture of foods and medicines (AU-IBAR, 2016). Beekeeping is the maintenance of bee colonies by humans, commonly in man-made hives, in order to extract such produce from the insects. The beekeeper does so without harming or disrupting the bees thus allowing them to continue with their undertaking. It is of the utmost importance that beekeepers practice sustainable beekeeping to protect and maintain healthy, indigenous bees.

The practice of beekeeping dates back to ancient times and little had changed for centuries (Brown, 2019). However, now there is exciting technology that is reforming the role!

Hive Tracks

Hive Tracks deliver cloud-based software and data analytics products focused on the health of honey bees and their direct connection to global food production. Their hive management software is designed to optimize the role of beekeeping. It makes all important information readily accessible and shareable, and creates interactive maps and calendars to keep track of where the bees are going and requirements for the hives. Hive Tracks software is currently managing over 100,000 hives across 150 countries!

BeeSmart

BeeSmart is an smartphone application that assists beekeepers in identifying plant flowers suitable for their bees. Using the specific location of the beehives, the application will provide details of ideal flowers that will provide the bees with a plentiful supply of pollen and nectar for honey production, whilst being suitable for the soil conditions and climate of the region. The BeeSmart database contains details of over 1,000 plants from which it delivers recommendations!

Pollenity

Pollenity offers beekeepers quality beehives with integrated sensor technology that allow them to monitor the activity, weight, temperature and humidity of the hives. Pollenity implement their Beebot device into each of their beehives which records, analyses and streams important information to produce alerts and reports to the beekeeper regarding the health and productivity of their bees.

Outlined above are some of the exciting technological endeavours that are changing and optimising the role of beekeeping! We are lucky to live during one of the most innovative periods of time and witness advancements in technology that are changing our world. This blog aims to highlight how such technological developments are benefiting different areas that are imperative to the world and humankind without us even being aware!

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Links To The Beekeeping Technology Companies Websites

Hive Tracks: hivetracks.com

BeeSmart: www.farms.com/agriculture-apps/gardening/beesmart-pollinator-gardener

Pollenity: pollenity.com

Refererences

[1] African Union - Interafrican Bureau For Animal Sources, 2020. The Importance of Beekeeping. [online] Available at: <http://www.au-ibar.org/component/jdownloads/finish/142-trainings/2603-module-2-the-importance-of-beekeeping> [Accessed 5 March 2020].

[2] Brown, J., 2019.The Global History Of Beekeeping. [online] Thejennybproject.com. Available at: <https://www.thejennybproject.com/single-post/2019/03/18/The-Global-History-of-Beekeeping> [Accessed 4 March 2020].

[3] Lumpur, K., 2016.Pollinators Vital To Our Food Supply Under Threat. [online] Ipbes.net. Available at: <https://ipbes.net/article/press-release-pollinators-vital-our-food-supply-under-threat> [Accessed 4 March 2020].

[4] Worldbeeday.org. 2018.The Importance Of Bees. [online] Available at: <https://www.worldbeeday.org/en/about/the-importance-of-bees.html> [Accessed 2 March 2020].