The system for comprehensive monitoring of the state of bee colonies Apipulse, popularly known as Smart Apiary, using an autonomous control unit installed in the apiary, collects data from sensors located both inside and outside the hives. All data is transferred to a cloud server, where it is stored and processed. After processing, data for any period and on any convenient scale (day, week, month, 6 months, 1 year) are available to the beekeeper in an application on a smartphone or on a computer via a web interface in the form of convenient graphs and digital values for analyzing the state of bee colonies on System-controlled apiary. All sensors in the system are equipped with QR codes, which are designed to quickly access sensor data directly from the application that allows you to scan the QR code, thereby reducing the time it takes to find the necessary data collected from a specific hive. The QR code is also a ready-made hive marking, which has been mandatory in Russia since March 1, 2024.
All beekeepers know that the bee colony always tries to maintain a certain temperature and humidity inside the hive. Around the uterus this temperature is 36℃, inside the hive in a healthy colony it stays around 30℃-32℃. Normal relative humidity inside the hive is about 75%. Thus, the healthier the colony, the more stable the temperature and humidity parameters inside the hive and the less they depend on the state of these parameters outside the hive.
Sensors for placement inside the hive are designed in such a way that they can be placed on the frames, so that the sensor hole is located between the frames and looks down, or even lowered between the frames using a special strip of flexible plastic to achieve maximum accuracy. The Apipulse smart apiary currently has 2 types of sensors for placement inside the hive - a basic temperature and humidity sensor (XM010) and a multi-sensor sensor (BM01X), which, in addition to temperature and humidity, records sound parameters and determines the shift or revolution of the hive. Beehive scales (BS010) of the original design are the third type of sensors of the Apipulse monitoring system and, in addition to determining the mass of the hive, they measure external temperature and relative humidity, and are also able to record a revolution or shift.
When using the basic XM010 sensor, you can monitor the general health of the family during the active period, and in the winter-spring period, in addition to the general health of the family, you can track, for example, the beginning of brood sowing or the weakening of the family from underfeeding.
To make tracking easier, the Apipulse application has a graph comparison function. The reference graph for comparison can be assigned to the graph of any sensor that measures the temperature and relative humidity of the external environment. To do this, you can place one of the sensors, for example, under the hive or near the hives under a canopy that protects it from direct sunlight and active precipitation. Also, if one or more bee scales are connected to the System, then their temperature or humidity indicators are taken as reference.
In the menu of the sensor whose graph the Apipulse user wants to select as a reference, you can select which of the parameters will be shown on the graphs of all other sensors. Accordingly, the smaller the fluctuations in temperature and humidity inside the hive repeat the daily fluctuations in outside temperature and humidity, the stronger the family, since a strong family is able to maintain the most stable parameters inside the hive.
During wintering, the club inside a healthy hive constantly moves, which is reflected in the graphs as a gradual increase or decrease in temperature, and in the winter-spring period, when the queen begins to sow brood, the temperature inside the hive rises sharply. This way, if it happens too early, the beekeeper has a chance to feed the colony or take some additional action to save the colony.
The examples below show various situations that can be seen on the graphs and comparative graphs of strong and weak families in the winter-spring period.
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Picture 1.
All beekeepers know that the bee colony always tries to maintain a certain temperature and humidity inside the hive. Around the uterus this temperature is 36℃, inside the hive in a healthy colony it stays around 30℃-32℃. Normal relative humidity inside the hive is about 75%. Thus, the healthier the colony, the more stable the temperature and humidity parameters inside the hive and the less they depend on the state of these parameters outside the hive.
Sensors for placement inside the hive are designed in such a way that they can be placed on the frames, so that the sensor hole is located between the frames and looks down, or even lowered between the frames using a special strip of flexible plastic to achieve maximum accuracy. The Apipulse smart apiary currently has 2 types of sensors for placement inside the hive - a basic temperature and humidity sensor (XM010) and a multi-sensor sensor (BM01X), which, in addition to temperature and humidity, records sound parameters and determines the shift or revolution of the hive. Beehive scales (BS010) of the original design are the third type of sensors of the Apipulse monitoring system and, in addition to determining the mass of the hive, they measure external temperature and relative humidity, and are also able to record a revolution or shift.
When using the basic XM010 sensor, you can monitor the general health of the family during the active period, and in the winter-spring period, in addition to the general health of the family, you can track, for example, the beginning of brood sowing or the weakening of the family from underfeeding.
To make tracking easier, the Apipulse application has a graph comparison function. The reference graph for comparison can be assigned to the graph of any sensor that measures the temperature and relative humidity of the external environment. To do this, you can place one of the sensors, for example, under the hive or near the hives under a canopy that protects it from direct sunlight and active precipitation. Also, if one or more bee scales are connected to the System, then their temperature or humidity indicators are taken as reference.
In the menu of the sensor whose graph the Apipulse user wants to select as a reference, you can select which of the parameters will be shown on the graphs of all other sensors. Accordingly, the smaller the fluctuations in temperature and humidity inside the hive repeat the daily fluctuations in outside temperature and humidity, the stronger the family, since a strong family is able to maintain the most stable parameters inside the hive.
During wintering, the club inside a healthy hive constantly moves, which is reflected in the graphs as a gradual increase or decrease in temperature, and in the winter-spring period, when the queen begins to sow brood, the temperature inside the hive rises sharply. This way, if it happens too early, the beekeeper has a chance to feed the colony or take some additional action to save the colony.
The examples below show various situations that can be seen on the graphs and comparative graphs of strong and weak families in the winter-spring period.
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Picture 1.
Picture 1.
The moment of turning on the heater in the winter hut. Humidity and temperature graphs. Sensor 97 lies in the room, 96 – inside the hive. Turning on the heater on January 2.
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Picture 2.
The moment of turning on the heater in the winter hut. Humidity and temperature graphs. Sensor 97 lies in the room, 96 – inside the hive. Turning on the heater on January 2.
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Picture 2.
Picture 2.
The moment of cleaning the hives in the winter hut on January 15. Comparison with the temperature in the winter hut (lower graphs at 92 and 93)
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Picture 3.
The moment of cleaning the hives in the winter hut on January 15. Comparison with the temperature in the winter hut (lower graphs at 92 and 93)
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Picture 3.
Picture 3.
The moment after the first flyby - comparison of a stronger family (97) with a weaker one (69) in temperature with a graph of the ambient temperature (lower graphs at 97 and 69).
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Picture 4.
The moment after the first flyby - comparison of a stronger family (97) with a weaker one (69) in temperature with a graph of the ambient temperature (lower graphs at 97 and 69).
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Picture 4.
Picture 4.
The temperature inside the hive in weak (74) and strong (BM011-03) colonies compared to the ambient temperature in the spring.
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Picture 5.
The temperature inside the hive in weak (74) and strong (BM011-03) colonies compared to the ambient temperature in the spring.
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Picture 5.
Picture 5.
Family death in winter (82)
At sub-zero temperatures, the bee can still be brought back to life by warming it up within 4-10 hours after torpor.
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Picture 6.
Family death in winter (82)
At sub-zero temperatures, the bee can still be brought back to life by warming it up within 4-10 hours after torpor.
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Picture 6.
Picture 6.
Relocation of the club in winter and the gradual weakening of the family (BM010-03).
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When using the BM01X multi-sensor sensor, the capabilities of monitoring and preserving a bee colony increase significantly, since many more parameters of the family’s vital activity can be determined by changes in the sound spectrum of the hive’s noise. The Apipulse application shows on the graphs of the multisensory sensor, in addition to temperature and humidity, 4 strips of the sound spectrum of the selected frequencies of the hive in which the multisensor is located. Frequency graphs are shown in the form of bands of different thicknesses; the thicker the band of any frequency, the greater the amplitude of this frequency in the entire frequency spectrum measured by the sensor compared to other frequencies displayed on the graph.
The MBT company, which is the developer of the Apipulse bee colony monitoring system, plans to produce its own data markup and develop a software module based on artificial intelligence, which, based on this data, will give recommendations to the beekeeper on what needs to be done to prevent the loss of bees. In the meantime, the System is based on data from scientific experiments carried out by Russian and foreign scientists to study the sound of bees. Our tests confirm the results of most of these studies. By analyzing the spectrum of certain frequencies, it is possible to determine many different states of the bee colony, such as: ventilation, positive and negative attitude towards the queen, loss or absence of the queen, disease or mite damage, excited state due to external influences, pre-swarm state at the time of laying swarm bowls and the immediate swarm state of the family.
The graphs clearly show when the family is in a calm state, and when it is in one of the states listed above. At the moment, the application is available for simultaneous display of 4 frequencies, but in the near future we plan to make a separate menu where the beekeeper will be able to select graphs of those frequencies (frequencies responsible for certain conditions) that he wants to observe.
The example shows graphs of the loss of the queen, when the bees from a calm state abruptly switched to a state of excitement (pic. 7), then the families were united and the bees went into a calm state (pic. 8), but as it turned out later, the first honey flow and the queen began I began to sow a lot in pic. 9 shows how the pre-war excitement of the family went. When examining the hive, a nest of swarm bowls was discovered. The frame with honey was removed and more stores were added, after which the family went into a calm state. Bursts at the lower frequency in the graph pic. 9 is opening the hive, and then moving the apiary to another place.
Picture 7.
Relocation of the club in winter and the gradual weakening of the family (BM010-03).
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When using the BM01X multi-sensor sensor, the capabilities of monitoring and preserving a bee colony increase significantly, since many more parameters of the family’s vital activity can be determined by changes in the sound spectrum of the hive’s noise. The Apipulse application shows on the graphs of the multisensory sensor, in addition to temperature and humidity, 4 strips of the sound spectrum of the selected frequencies of the hive in which the multisensor is located. Frequency graphs are shown in the form of bands of different thicknesses; the thicker the band of any frequency, the greater the amplitude of this frequency in the entire frequency spectrum measured by the sensor compared to other frequencies displayed on the graph.
The MBT company, which is the developer of the Apipulse bee colony monitoring system, plans to produce its own data markup and develop a software module based on artificial intelligence, which, based on this data, will give recommendations to the beekeeper on what needs to be done to prevent the loss of bees. In the meantime, the System is based on data from scientific experiments carried out by Russian and foreign scientists to study the sound of bees. Our tests confirm the results of most of these studies. By analyzing the spectrum of certain frequencies, it is possible to determine many different states of the bee colony, such as: ventilation, positive and negative attitude towards the queen, loss or absence of the queen, disease or mite damage, excited state due to external influences, pre-swarm state at the time of laying swarm bowls and the immediate swarm state of the family.
The graphs clearly show when the family is in a calm state, and when it is in one of the states listed above. At the moment, the application is available for simultaneous display of 4 frequencies, but in the near future we plan to make a separate menu where the beekeeper will be able to select graphs of those frequencies (frequencies responsible for certain conditions) that he wants to observe.
The example shows graphs of the loss of the queen, when the bees from a calm state abruptly switched to a state of excitement (pic. 7), then the families were united and the bees went into a calm state (pic. 8), but as it turned out later, the first honey flow and the queen began I began to sow a lot in pic. 9 shows how the pre-war excitement of the family went. When examining the hive, a nest of swarm bowls was discovered. The frame with honey was removed and more stores were added, after which the family went into a calm state. Bursts at the lower frequency in the graph pic. 9 is opening the hive, and then moving the apiary to another place.
Picture 7.
Picture 7.
Excitement of the family in the absence of a uterus.
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Picture 8.
Excitement of the family in the absence of a uterus.
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Picture 8.
Picture 8.
The calm state of the family after the unification.
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Picture 9.
The calm state of the family after the unification.
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Picture 9.
Picture 9.
Laying swarm bowls.
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The BS010 apiary scales included in the Apipulse monitoring system were specially designed at the request of industrial beekeepers and are not a classic platform, but a bar with a cross-section of 5 x 5 cm and a length of 50 cm, which can be easily installed under a hive of any weight by one person, just tilting it slightly. In order for the hive to stand horizontally, a regular wooden block is installed under the opposite part of the hive. Apipulse bee scales are designed for hives weighing up to 200 kg and have an accuracy of 100 grams. The application currently shows graphs of half the mass of the hive, temperature and relative humidity of the environment. The scales are also equipped with a QR code to facilitate direct access to data from the application.
Laying swarm bowls.
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The BS010 apiary scales included in the Apipulse monitoring system were specially designed at the request of industrial beekeepers and are not a classic platform, but a bar with a cross-section of 5 x 5 cm and a length of 50 cm, which can be easily installed under a hive of any weight by one person, just tilting it slightly. In order for the hive to stand horizontally, a regular wooden block is installed under the opposite part of the hive. Apipulse bee scales are designed for hives weighing up to 200 kg and have an accuracy of 100 grams. The application currently shows graphs of half the mass of the hive, temperature and relative humidity of the environment. The scales are also equipped with a QR code to facilitate direct access to data from the application.
Apipulse bee scales
An application update will be ready in the near future, which will allow you to show weight gain relative to the time of zeroing the scales after installation, for example, magazine frames. It will also be possible to combine two scales to display the exact total weight, for example in the case of bed hives.
The Apipulse bee hive monitoring system, in addition to using a smartphone application, allows you to view graphs and make settings through an Internet browser on your computer. The web interface completely replicates the functionality of the application, with the exception of scanning a QR code for quick direct access to sensor data.
The Apipulse system for comprehensive monitoring of the state of bee colonies can be purchased in the catalog on our website https://apipulse.ru/en
In the near future it will be available for sale from major suppliers of bee equipment.
If you have any questions about the operation or maintenance of the system, answers to frequently asked questions can be found in the support section on our website, where you can also ask your question through the feedback form.
An application update will be ready in the near future, which will allow you to show weight gain relative to the time of zeroing the scales after installation, for example, magazine frames. It will also be possible to combine two scales to display the exact total weight, for example in the case of bed hives.
The Apipulse bee hive monitoring system, in addition to using a smartphone application, allows you to view graphs and make settings through an Internet browser on your computer. The web interface completely replicates the functionality of the application, with the exception of scanning a QR code for quick direct access to sensor data.
The Apipulse system for comprehensive monitoring of the state of bee colonies can be purchased in the catalog on our website https://apipulse.ru/en
In the near future it will be available for sale from major suppliers of bee equipment.
If you have any questions about the operation or maintenance of the system, answers to frequently asked questions can be found in the support section on our website, where you can also ask your question through the feedback form.