The answer is the Fat Bees motto, "Know your bees, weigh your bees". If you want to know your bees you have to weigh your bees.
Our Hive Scales provide the single most important piece of information beekeepers need to manage beehives and maximise honey production. Whether you have one hive or a thousand, hives scales tell you the status of one hive or are representative of what is happening in the apiary.
Hive Scale data shows that hive inspections disrupt the normal activity of the hive for up to two days. With one-week inspection cycles, this disruption equates to a 30% reduction in hive productivity. To more effectively manage hives without this regular disruption to both bees and beekeepers, and without the loss of honey production, Hive Scales are a quantum leap forward.
The pattern of the weight changes over time, even over the course of the day tells us what is going on inside and outside the hive. Knowing the continuous weight of hives tells us about the effects of available food sources, temperature, wind, rain and sunshine on weight gain, and so much more yet to be discovered. Having hive weight at your fingertips is a major advance in the ancient practice of beekeeping. It opens up a whole new world of knowledge and discovery about bees and to more easily manage hives. Beekeepers using this tool would not be without it.
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For many beekeepers and obviously commercial beekeepers, it's about the honey and the money. When there is a good flow and hives are putting on 3 or 4 kilos of honey a day, harvesting just one day early or one day late means the loss of hundreds of kilos of honey and thousands of dollars. Our hive scales predict and confirm the day your supers are full. Provides estimates of pollination services workforce. Savings in time and travel costs alone justify the use of Hive Scales. Monitoring water supply with our Water Scales minimizes replenishing trips to a minimum. Sentinal hives placed at prospective forage areas provide a real-time indication of when a flow starts. |
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Maximizes honey production and tells when to shift hives
- Tells you how to maximise honey production.
- Scout hives with scales, placed at seasonal sites tell you when a flow is starting. Comparing weight gains between sites tells you where to get the most production.
- Tells you the best day to harvest. Hive scales send a notification when the ideal hive weight is reached.
- Tells you when to add another super.
- Tells you when to harvest without doing pre-harvest inspections.
- Accurately predicts the harvest date.
- Shows the rate of honey production between hives in different locations and when to migrate hives
- Where's the flow? Compare other hives and weight change rates across the State of Western Australia. Opt-in to share your hive data to the Western Australian Apiarists’ Society website, a great new resource for both hobbyists and migratory beekeepers.
Economy and health
- Save time and kilometres
- Tells you when hive inspections are indicated
- Upgradable multi-units as your apiary grows
- Replaceable parts like the old days.
Scientific Research
- Provides 5-gram resolution weight data. Weighs 50 bees. We can balance load cells for very precise readings.
Assists with pollination services
- Show how many bees are in your pollination force. Proof of pollinator numbers for pollination services
Provides Hive security
- Sends an alarm if supers or the hive is removed.
Tells you if you are Queenright
- Shows daily orientation flights.
- Shows the number of new bees orienting and adding to the foraging force.
- Shows orientation, which is directly related to the laying behaviour of the queen. It tells us the hive was queenright 40 days previous and indicates the health of the laying queen by the frequency and number of bees orienting. For a great description of this checkout Orientation and being Queenright
- And changes in hive weight indicate hive health.
Shows robbing, swarming and bait hives
Tells you about the flow
- Identifies the start of a flow or a dearth a long time before it is obvious from inspections.
- Shows a tapering off of a flow
Manages supplementary feeding
- Tells you when the syrup, candy or pollen is gone.
- Tells you exactly when the bees can fend for themselves and feeding can stop.
Improves breeding stock
- Provides an assessment of the desired queen characteristics for breeding purposes. The early buildup, conservative laying.
Tells you about hive health and winter stores
- Identifies problems with hives when their weight gain or reduction, is significantly different from other hives.
- Tells you the stores hives have for winter, their consumption rate, when they are expected to run out and when feeding is indicated.
Compares hive strength
- Compare your own hives to learn what works and what works better.
Do you need more reasons to use Hive Scales? Maybe time to get one now!