Across the world, people and governments are banning pesticides and planting more pollinator-friendly flowers to boost bee populations naturally. That's all great, but an Israeli company has overhauled the traditional beehive to create a robotic wonder.
Now farmers and beekeepers also have a way to protect bee colonies that are crucial for growing crops, by using robotic hives that protect pollinators from any hazard.
The traditional hive most commonly used in the world today (the Langstroth box) was designed by humans about 150 years ago. But, by completely redesigning the beehive, a company called Beewise has addressed many of the inefficiencies of the box and significantly improve bees’ well-being and longevity. Hardly surprising, therefore, that they recently received an $80 million funding injection for their autonomous hive.
Utilizing 24/7 monitoring and smart technology that significantly increases pollination capacity and honey production, Beewise’s proprietary robotic beehive, the Beehome, seamlessly detects threats to a honeybee colony such as pesticides and the presence of pests and immediately defends against them.
Its automatic robotic system responds to threats in real time and requires no human intervention. To reverse the trend of colony collapse, Beehomes are thermally regulated, and can provide protection from fires, flooding, and Asian Wasps (murder hornets). The hive even feeds the honeybees when local food supply is not available.
In a statement, the company says: “Beehome reduces bee mortality by 80 percent, resulting in increased yields of at least 50 percent, while eliminating approximately 90 percent of manual labor when compared to traditional beehives.”
Beewise currently manages more than seven billion bees, which equates to 25,000 acres of pollinated crops. Through the Beehome device, the Israeli startup says it has saved over 160 million bees over the course of the last 12 months.