This sustainable beehive is made to replicates the microclimate of the bee’s pure habitat!

Bees are important to preserve our ecosystem jogging as we know it, these learn pollinators engage in a massive function in supporting the advancement of trees, bouquets, and other crops that provide as foods + shelter for all residing beings. They add to complicated, interconnected ecosystems that allow a assorted range of various species to co-exist. HIIVE is a beehive developed to aid beekeepers to maintain their bees in a far more purely natural way in comparison to traditional hives. It is crafted from sustainable resources and with small-vitality sensors to give the beekeeping knowledge a much-wanted up grade due to the fact it has been 150 many years due to the fact the traditional bee box style!

It supports the inherent conduct of the Apis Mellifera aka the European honeybee which is a single of the most widespread varieties. “At very first we just needed to style a extra ergonomic beehive. Whilst learning design, we accompanied quite a few beekeepers. The first time we observed the treatment method versus the Varroa Mite (largest enemy of the honeybee), it was surprising. The chemical procedure had a direct effect on the bees‘ actions. We located that there is a a lot more really serious difficulty to be solved than the ergonomics of beekeeping. So we spoke to scientists for suggestions and they continuously pointed out the difficulty with the wrong microclimate in standard bee-containers,” discussed Potthast and that is how the strategy came to bee.

HIIVE is made to replicate the microclimate of a tree cave which is the natural habitat of the European honey bee. In accordance to investigation, honey bees in tree caves reside healthier lives and are superior equipped to deal with parasites due to the fact of circumstantial lessons. HIIVE is fundamentally the initially tree cave that can be developed at an industrial scale.

It features a tree cave-like geometry devoid of chilly bridges which would make it easy for the wintertime bees. The body is made from recycled plastic and a textile cover to secure towards the weather. Its also insulated with organic thermo hemp wool and an supplemental vapor barrier movie for ideal moisture regulate. Many thanks to the insulation the animals have to use less strength to warmth up or interesting down the dwelling and this “leisure time” has favourable outcomes on their behavior which encourages grooming the natural way.

Potthast put in a year investigating and learning style with beekeepers to understand the demands of both animals and humans. When biologists pointed out that the microclimate is the major issue, the create of the 1st edition of HIIVE was manufactured and insulated with organic hemp wool. “For the prototyping stage, we applied 3D printing for all structural factors and laser chopping for the wood parts. We have analyzed the initial prototype with a bee colony and it worked perfectly for the microclimate. But the dealing with was not gratifying and the volume desired to be modified,” spelled out Potthast.

The redesign was additional effective and has a two-chamber process – 1 honey chamber and a single brood chamber – which are easily extractable. This will make it achievable to harvest honey respectfully. The volume of plastic was also reduced by about 85% thanks to the use of the textile deal with. It has a small production charge and therefore can be reasonably priced for beekeepers throughout the world.

Typical bee packing containers neglect the demands that honey bees essentially make on a dwelling. Bees choose a round condition and good insulation which is normally identified in tree caves. But in regular boxes, they need to have to shell out a ton of vitality on preserving the preferred temperature throughout the seasons. There is also no living space for symbionts and if parasites enter then the bees get in hassle which outcomes in beekeepers having to handle them with chemical substances. In distinction, HIIVE was designed with a human-animal-centered approach. It brings beekeeping again to character and guarantees a healthy lifetime for bees.

“At the second we are conducting a discipline test with 10 prototypes of the latest version. The program is to carry HIIVE to sequence manufacturing following all exams are created,” reported Potthast as he spoke about the design’s long term. “The upcoming stage is also the enhancement of the campanion app, which will make a new way of retaining bees. With smart sensors we have the likelihood to produce not only wellbeing tracking of each individual colony, but also a swarm alarm merged with a swarm web. In this way beekeepers get notified when precisely to hope a swarm so they can preserve bees in a extremely purely natural way without having regulating their swarm conduct,” he additional.

HIIVE is the ideal blend of a natural and healthful property for bees as effectively as ergonomic and easy to use by beekeepers. The integrated app will make beekeeping much more economical and safe whilst the reduced-value style will make it easy to be mass-manufactured with out introducing to the plastic air pollution trouble. It is un-bee-lievably excellent for a beehive!

Designer: Philip Potthast

HIIVE is a runner-up for the James Dyson Awards 2021 and has many much more notable achievements through its journey from idea to completion.