Two Bee Or More Bee Swarm Detection
In the world of bees, swarming is a strategic way for colonies to find new homes when their hive becomes crowded or they seek a change. Beekeeper Captain Flatus O’Flaherty employs a specialized capture hive to attract swarming bees. If a swarm chooses this hive, Flatus uses a CO2 detector to determine if the bees have settled in. Multiple such hives are positioned, but checking them manually is impractical. Yet, as a thousand bees collectively emit detectable CO2, a custom PCB with a solar-powered LoRa radio, housing an ESP32 D4 and Ebyte E22-400M30S LoRa module, gauges CO2 and transmits findings. If elevated CO2 persists at night, a swarm likely moved in.
The gathered data is fine-tuned for training an XGBoost model, incorporating weather and environmental conditions. The model aims to predict swarm likelihood, considering Apis Mellifera’s (the local honeybee) preference for warm, humid afternoons with sunlight and minimal wind. This inventive approach to beekeeping exemplifies the potential of beehive monitoring, with further insights explored in the accompanying video.
We might not have the specific sensors mentioned in the article but we can offer these:
- 9Pcs MQ2 MQ-3 MQ-4 MQ-5 MQ-6 MQ-7 MQ-8 MQ-9 MQ-135 Sensor Module kit
- Wemos® Lolin ESP32 WiFi Bluetooth Dual ESP-32 ESP-32S ESP8266 OLED Module
Read more: 2023 Hackaday Prize: Two Bee Or More Bee Swarm Detection