Saturday, May 14, 2016 2:48:11 PM
Brilliant new beehive harnesses solar energy to exterminate the colony’s worst enemy
By Dyllan Furness — May 13, 2016
Thermosolar Hive: healthy bees & healthy honey
An innovative new beehive design –launched via an Indiegogo campaign– might just be the solution we need to relieve, or even end, colony collapse disorder in bees. Abandoning chemicals and harnessing the power of Mother Nature herself, the Thermosolar Hive aims to target one of the honeybee’s worst enemies – Varroa destructor mites
Varroa destructor mites are just as devastating as they sound. Many experts claim the Varroa mite is the most significant factor in colony collapse disorder, a phenomenon which has caused honeybee populations to plummet across the globe.
Related: Freshdy layers perforated plastic to boost the shelf life of food
The tiny parasites latch onto both bees and broods, and suck the living life out of them. Infected broods often mature with deformed or missing limbs and wings. Once the mites are attached, they’re nearly impossible to eradicate without also destroying hives, placing infected colonies into quarantine, and delaying seasonal pollination. The Varroa mites’ tendency to transfer from bee to bee and hive to hive makes containment even more complicated.
And while pesticides can often treat bees for Varroa mites, the chemicals come at a price. Not only do hives have to be shut down for keepers to administer the chemicals, but sometimes, mites can actually become resistant to the pesticides.
To circumvent these issues, the cleverly-designed Thermosolar Hive leverages the power of the sun to increase the temperature of the hive to a heat that bees can withstand but Varroa mites cannot. This heat makes it nearly impossible for mites to take up residence in the hive, and it steers them away without the help of any harsh pesticides. The hive’s creators also boast that it won’t significantly interrupt pollination and won’t run the risk of mutating mites.
The Thermosolar Hive only exists in protoype form at this point, but if its creators can raise $20,000 over the course of the next month, they’ll have enough to bring their design into production. Assuming that they hit that mark, and barring any hiccups in the manufacturing process, the creators expect to begin shipping to backers sometime around January or February of 2017.
Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/thermosolar-hive/#ixzz48eoSh3Nh
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All I say is IMHO and not to be construed as investment advice. I know nothing, as informed frequently by my wife.
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