If we said that bees are essential to human life, we would not lie. They are one of the most efficient plant pollinators, with an annual contribution to crop productivity of 147 million euros. However, concerns about the extinction of bee colonies have been growing over the past few decades. This is why we together with partners have decided to take action and develop a beehive protection and monitoring system, which would increase the efficiency of bees, reduce the number of their deaths, contribute to more sustainable financial planning and alert the farmer about the formation of a swarm.

HOW DOES IT WORK?

The efficiency of the software will be ensured by a user-friendly installation infrastructure and system usage environment. Autonomous sensor devices installed in the hive will continuously measure the temperature, humidity and acoustic signals of the hive. The data will be transmitted to a central server, processed by advanced algorithms and presented to the farmer in an understandable and attractive form.

Based on data collected, the beekeeper will be informed in real time about the possibility of swarm formation, the loss of the queen bee, cases of attack of the bee family, assessment of bee health etc. In case unexpected changes appear in the ecosystem of the hive, automatic notifications will be sent.

The system being developed will not be tied to a specific type of sensors, so farmers will be able to use sensors manufactured by various suppliers and install them in hives by themselves by using clear instructions.

WHY IS THIS NEEDED?

As 84% of plant species and 76% of European food production depend on bee pollination (this creates the value of 14.2 billion EUR a year in the EU), concerns about the extinction of bee colonies are really worrying. The beehive protection and monitoring system being develop by ART21 together with Nature science center is a step to the better future of the bees. Beekeepers using this system will reduce the cost of hive maintenance by 25% and increase the production by a quarter. In addition, the number of dead bees will be reduced by 20%.

First results promising a breakthrough

Testing of selected beekeepers’ farms began last spring. The results are satisfying for both technology developers and farmers who have tested the system. Data is captured successfully and sensors respond accurately to changes in indicators. It is planned to organise field days in the near future which will provide an opportunity for a wide circle of beekeepers to learn more about the developed technology. Later, the stage of implementation of this advanced system created by Lithuanians on large-scale farms is scheduled.