Temperature Sensors Could Help Beekeepers Monitor Hive Health

Computer scientists at the University of California, Riverside, are part of a team that developed a system of temperature sensors and forecasting models to help warn beekeepers when their remote hives may be in danger of collapse. The Electronic Bee-Veterinarian, or EBV, provides beekeepers with an early warning that hive health is declining. Honeybees ordinarily maintain a precise internal hive temperature, but disease, pesticide exposure, food shortages, or other stressors can cause a hive’s temperature to fluctuate. The EBV system can detect this fluctuation, predict hive conditions several days in advance, and alert the beekeeper to take management action quickly, before the situation worsens. Designers created the system with low-cost components to keep it affordable, and they are working on integrating the sensors with a system to automatically heat or cool the hive when sensors identify a temperature problem.