We zoom in on an innovation that is helping to preserve the different species of bees: robotic hives. Developed in Israel, this technology could soon be available around the world! 

In recent years, many bees have disappeared around the world, victims of ‘colony collapse disorder’. According to the UN, “pollinators are now dying out at a rate 100 to 1,000 times higher than normal”.

Essential but threatened insects

This phenomenon is attributed to a combination of factors. The effects of climate change (rising temperatures, increasing droughts, floods, etc.) are among the main threats to bees.

But that’s not all. According to Professor Sharoni Shafir, who heads the bee study center at the Hebrew University in Rehovot, the reduction of flower fields due to construction has reduced the power source and diversification of the bees’ diet. Added to this are the use of pesticides, diseases, and parasites such as Varroa destructor, a devastating mite.

Yet we are very dependent on bees. A significant part of human nutrition is the result of pollination, which is carried out by insects and enables pollinate plants to reproduce. More than 70% of crops (almost all fruits, vegetables, oil and protein crops, spices, coffee, and cocoa) need them!!!!

🐝 Macro farming and their main pollution problems

In the long term, “nutritious crops” (fruits, nuts, vegetables) are likely to be replaced by “food crops” (rice, maize, potatoes). This will lead to “unbalanced diets”, the United Nations is concerned.

Capturing the needs of bees

To protect the increasingly fragile bee colonies, Beewise, an Israeli start-up, came up with the idea of creating robotic hives that monitor bees 24 hours a day and help reduce the mortality of these pollinators.

The company has created containers called «Beehome», each of which can house 24 hives. These beehives function like normal wooden hives, except that they are managed by a pollinating robot inside, which monitors the insects, controls their habitat and provides them with care.