[IWASHERE]

Hello All,

I've been working on a project for sometime to fix the massive amounts of deaths that happen over winter. So I built a beehive made of advanced materials that is about 4000x more insulated than what exists out there. Additionally, there are a host of sensors in the hive so you can know what's going on 24/7, and automatically share that data with researchers to get specific feedback and insights.

I'll be doing a kickstarter in a few weeks. Right now I'm doing a pre-launch campaign where you can win free hives, among other things. I would love to hear the problems people are having, and to get some needed support to help change the beekeeping world for the better.

Check out the website here.

 

[GregV]

Another project about "Honey Bees Need Your Help".
Moving along...

 

[Tim KS]

Have you consulted the bees about this endeavor? My bees would like less hours per week to work with vacation time figured in. They also want restrictions on hive beetles & wax moth and where they are allowed to move in.......not to mention that thief that comes around and steals most of their product just before winter's arrival. :lookout:

 

[fatoz]

Hello All,

So I built a beehive made of advanced materials that is about 4000x more insulated than what exists out there.

Check out the website here.

Your website seems to suggest otherwise: "Ours is over 100x better than what currently exists!"

 

[Michael Bush]

> "Ours is over 100x better than what currently exists!"

4000 x is "over 100x better"... About 3,900 more times better...

 

[Apis Natural]

:lpf: "build a new hive design" ok.....

 

[IWASHERE]

> "Ours is over 100x better than what currently exists!"

4000 x is "over 100x better"... About 3,900 more times better...

Indeed. They're not mutually exclusive. Also, it's not a hyperbole. It is literally that much better.

I notice a lot of you just making sarcastic remarks, but I'm actually working to address the many concerns that are going on in beekeeping. Also, Beekeeping has more or less stayed the same for decades now. Is it really hard to imagine that someone has improved upon what's out there?

You can read - in detail- on what I've made, and how its better than what's out there.

Check them out here:
http://www.learningwithlowell.com/why-i-built-the-tesla-of-beekeeping/
http://www.learningwithlowell.com/why-should-you-care-about-technology-in-beekeeping/
http://www.learningwithlowell.com/how-i-built-the-tesla-of-honey-bee-hives/

 

[little_john]

On a personal note, I'd like to see Kickstarter-related posts actively discouraged, or even banned. If you have views about this, then you might want to add them to this thread:
https://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?358339-Kickstarter-related-posts
'best,
LJ

 

[IWASHERE]

What do people think about this? I'm open to answering questions.

 

[ericweller]

Yes, KickStart emails should be banned. If the poster is looking for money, they should pay to become a vendor or pay the fee for posting in a For Sale ad.

 

[JRG13]

LOL, i clicked a link and was blocked by work firewall because the site is about "drugs" apparently.... guess I'll take a look later.

 

[IWASHERE]

LOL, i clicked a link and was blocked by work firewall because the site is about "drugs" apparently.... guess I'll take a look later.

lol nope. not about drugs. Let me know what you think when you get a chance.

 

[firebob]

IWASHERE. This is what I think.

Central data bases or internet and network security do not go together. The only people I want finding my hives are the ones that get on GIS (global information systems) after they know what county I'm in and spend all day looking at satellite imagery. I forgot you have to pay to use GSI where I'm at...

From what I have found most issues with bees are from humans doing things they should not be doing. Were the ones that steal to much of there honey, move them all over the place and get them to work, feed them things that are not natural to the wild, and then have all these issues that we have to spend more money on instead of looking back to how we do our work.

Why not make a system that a beek would wear and that sends them text messages every time they are about to do something stupid that will affect there bee hives?

 

[IWASHERE]

IWASHERE. This is what I think.

Central data bases or internet and network security do not go together. The only people I want finding my hives are the ones that get on GIS (global information systems) after they know what county I'm in and spend all day looking at satellite imagery. I forgot you have to pay to use GSI where I'm at...

From what I have found most issues with bees are from humans doing things they should not be doing. Were the ones that steal to much of there honey, move them all over the place and get them to work, feed them things that are not natural to the wild, and then have all these issues that we have to spend more money on instead of looking back to how we do our work.

Why not make a system that a beek would wear and that sends them text messages every time they are about to do something stupid that will affect there bee hives?

Thank you for writing! I appreciate it.

I'll break down what you wrote and my responses.

In terms of data base and security. The data that will be collected (optionally, as it's easy to opt out) is made anonymous so your private info that doesn't relate to the bees isn't shared. I've talked with a number of IoT experts, and this should be a good solution to privacy concerns. The upside is that with sharing we can learn more about the bees.

On the point of people doing the wrong/incorrect thing. The data collection and monitoring, which goes to your phone will tell you when you're doing something stupid. The eventual goal is to make predictive analytics that lets you know when problems arise before they are easily noticeable. You'd get alerts and such, so that is kind of what you're talking about. Human error is a bit one that I want to help people with.

It's hard to learn when messing up kills bees. :/

Also, the second part of what I made is the upgraded beehive. The steel, and insulation, allow the hives to extremely increase the bees survivability during our crazy winters (Midwest). To get slightly in the weeds. Normal wooden hives have an R-value (insulation) of less than 1, where what I'm making has an R value of 25-30.

This link talks about people home r values for different regions to give you an idea of how important a high r value is for temperature extremes.
https://www.energy.gov/energysaver/weatherize/insulation

 

[firebob]

IWASHERE.

It comes down to we do stuff to our hives to make money now and don't think about the long term affect of how it affects our bees and how much money it will cost us later. Bee keepers are farmers and the information is out there on how to manage our farms with out as many problems, but people are resistant.

If you truly want to help people than you need to stop them before they do something wrong or your system needs to walk people thought root cause analysis for every problem they have so they learn something.

What GIAC Certifications dose your "IoT experts" have? I'm sorry but I have a family member that is an instructor at SANS Institute, I have a different family member that works for the NSA, and I have a aunt that works for the FBI that deals with computer crimes. Our family get together get very educational and interesting very fast once the mead comes out.

 

[Arnie]

If you wouldn't mind, can you please design an app that would electrocute the mites.

Here in Colorado our bees don't suffer from cold. They don't need the extreme insulation.

As long as I leave them enough honey and provide a little ventilation they winter just fine.
That's if I take care of the mites.

So please invent the mite killer app.
Thanks

 

[firebob]

Arnie.
Wouldn't it bee better if the app would do water torture on the mites and have the app text you how many drop's it took and any information it got out of them?

IWASHERE.
I think Arnie should be one of your top "bee experts" for this or your next project.

The longer i think about this the more I want to say it. With all the research out there on housing insulation and ventilation don't you think you could of posted a link that covers both. If you would of posted a link like https://www.beeculture.com/winter-management/ it would of given you a bit more credibility if that is what you want.

 

[JRG13]

I got on my smart phone and read your blogs etc.. It's not really my cup of tea but taking data and being able to make some predictive analysis can be very useful. Personally i'm way past the hobby stage and I move hives around frequently so having to unhook everything is bothersome. My buddy has a few setups where he's using thicker boxes etc... and I see some wintering benefits there. I'd be willing to try a few boxes out just as is but I can open a hive and tell what's going on pretty quickly and I don't feel the need to know what's going on all the time. But again, none of this is really new to me since my buddy has a few full setups with multiple cameras and data sensors and he's working on some other stuff that seems over kill to me but it's somewhat useful and could be more efficient if it works out. My only other suggestion is don't make claims w/o data to back it up, it could come back to bite you in the rear.

 

[Arnie]

I have tried insulation and the bees do not come through winter any better. So I no longer waste my time wrapping hives.

Not saying it would be a bad idea in extremely cold places, Alaska and such.
But in most of the country it just isn't necessary.

As per Dr Richard Taylor:
"Nothing has been said of providing warmth to the colonies, by packing hives or otherwise, and quite rightly so. ...... Bees do not suffer from cold as such. They suffer severely from moisture. "

Having said all that, more insulation certainly can't hurt as long as you provide some way to reduce moisture.

 

[Arnie]

Lowell,
There is a specific problem i have noticed in the last few years:
Sudden queenlessness.
A hive can be robust, populous, bringing in pollen and putting up some nice honey.
Next thing you know it is queenless. No brood, no queen, no laying workers (yet)
And no apparent reason. I know several other beeks having the same issue. Not on a large scale, but enough to get your attention.

If your sensors could find the conditions that show queenlessness coming I would like that a lot.
Thanks