Electronic Scale Hives

[Jerry Bromenshenk]

More and more companies are offering scale hives for sale. Some add temperature, relative humidity, and other sensors. Some are stand-alone, some use Blue Tooth or Wireless Communications, and some can be networked using cellular or satellite communications. One of the first companies to offer electronic hives to the backyard and small-scale beekeepers in Arnia, based in Europe. There are now at least a dozen companies, probably more, ranging from rugged systems produced by well-established companies, such as livestock scale distributor, who have added scales for hives, to garage-built local suppliers. Reliable systems have to be able to withstand weather extremes. So far, producing a rugged system that will continue to work properly for several years has posed a significant problem with respect to providing inexpensive electronic hives. If it seems like too-good-a-bargain, it may not last very long.

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I'm using the Broodminder scales and temperature sensors with remote wireless data collection. I have 24 hives with one temperature sensor in each but only 8 scales (they cost a lot more than the temperature sensors). Some of the equipment i've had in the field for over one year with few problems. The batteries mostly last over a year. I like being able to see the temperature inside my hives from wherever I've got internet access.

[Jerry Bromenshenk]

Great. If you see more or less constant temperature, your hive is probably queen-right. If a queen stops laying or is lost, the hive will ease up on the rigor of internal colony temperature regulation. The first occurs after ~ 3 days, when all or nearly all eggs have hatched into larvae. The second event occurs when most of the larvae have pupated and are capped. Once only capped brood is in the hive, the colony will generally only regulate temperature enough to avoid severe cold or heat. The rest of the time, the colony will more or less follow ambient air temperatures.