[{"command":"openDialog","selector":"#drupal-modal","settings":null,"data":"\u003Cdiv id=\u0022republish_modal_form\u0022\u003E\u003Cform class=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form ecl-form\u0022 data-drupal-selector=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 action=\u0022\/en\/article\/modal\/6839\u0022 method=\u0022post\u0022 id=\u0022modal-form-example-modal-form\u0022 accept-charset=\u0022UTF-8\u0022\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHorizon articles can be republished for free under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EYou must give appropriate credit. We ask you to do this by:\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 1) Using the original journalist\u0027s byline\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 2) Linking back to our original story\u003Cbr \/\u003E\n 3) Using the following text in the footer: This article was originally published in \u003Ca href=\u0027#\u0027\u003EHorizon, the EU Research and Innovation magazine\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003ESee our full republication guidelines \u003Ca href=\u0027\/horizon-magazine\/republish-our-stories\u0027\u003Ehere\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cp\u003EHTML for this article, including the attribution and page view counter, is below:\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cdiv class=\u0022js-form-item form-item js-form-type-textarea form-item-body-content js-form-item-body-content ecl-form-group ecl-form-group--text-area form-no-label ecl-u-mv-m\u0022\u003E\n \n\u003Cdiv\u003E\n \u003Ctextarea data-drupal-selector=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 aria-describedby=\u0022edit-body-content--description\u0022 id=\u0022edit-body-content\u0022 name=\u0022body_content\u0022 rows=\u00225\u0022 cols=\u002260\u0022 class=\u0022form-textarea ecl-text-area\u0022\u003E\u003Ch2\u003ESmart beehives and heat treatments could protect bees from decline\u003C\/h2\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe number of \u003Cem\u003EVarroa\u003C\/em\u003E mites, a bee parasite, has been steadily increasing due to warming weather conditions throughout Europe. The mites are a double threat to beehives because, in addition to feeding on baby bees, they also carry diseases, like the deformed wing virus.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeekeepers first noticed this virus about thirty years ago in Japan. Researchers observed that bees were being born without wings, and subsequently kicked out of the hive, where they starved to death.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EUp until now, the only way to combat the virus has been to keep Varroa mite levels low, and many beekeepers use chemical solutions for this. These chemicals can only be applied after the honey harvest, however, which poses a problem. Each year, the bee breeding season is starting earlier and earlier due to climate change, which gives the mites more time to reproduce. Beekeepers can be left with a dilemma if they need to put chemicals into the hive to exterminate the mites but still haven\u2019t harvested the honey.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAccording to Professor Wolfgang Wimmer of Austrian company ECODESIGN, chemicals like this can also affect the quality of wax and the taste of honey. However, he says there is an alternative.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018One can do a chemical-free treatment early in the year, leaving the mites and the virus with no chance of survival.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Wimmer has been working on such a chemical-free solution that uses heat to rid the hives of \u003Cem\u003EVarroa\u003C\/em\u003E mites.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo develop his idea, he studied the work of other experts, which showed that when bees were in a state of metamorphosis called the pupal stage \u2013 transforming from larvae into fully grown bees \u2013 they could survive very high temperatures. His question was, could the parasites also handle the heat?\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cblockquote class=\u0022tw-text-center tw-text-blue tw-font-bold tw-text-2xl lg:tw-w-1\/2 tw-border-2 tw-border-blue tw-p-12 tw-my-8 lg:tw-m-12 lg:tw--ml-16 tw-float-left\u0022\u003E\n \u003Cspan class=\u0022tw-text-5xl tw-rotate-180\u0022\u003E\u201c\u003C\/span\u003E\n \u003Cp class=\u0022tw-font-serif tw-italic\u0022\u003E\u0026#039;We know beekeepers who started their hive seven years ago, and they have never lost a single hive due to Varroa.\u0026#039;\u003C\/p\u003E\n \u003Cfooter\u003E\n \u003Ccite class=\u0022tw-not-italic tw-font-normal tw-text-sm tw-text-black\u0022\u003EProfessor Wolfgang Wimmer, Director, ECODESIGN\u003C\/cite\u003E\n \u003C\/footer\u003E\n\u003C\/blockquote\u003E\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EMetamorphosis\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBees go through a metamorphosis process not unlike that of the caterpillar and butterfly. Baby bees, called larvae, live in special cells of the beehive after birth, and are fed by the other bees. When they\u0026nbsp;get fat enough, the older bees seal the cell, trapping the larvae inside where they spin a cocoon and begin to transform into adults. However, the \u003Cem\u003EVarroa\u003C\/em\u003E mites also get trapped in these sealed cells.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EProf. Wimmer found that if the sealed cells were exposed to high temperatures, the \u003Cem\u003EVarroa\u003C\/em\u003E mites died off while the larval bees survived unscathed. He has used this finding to develop a machine, the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.varroa-controller.com\/de_DE\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003EVarroa Controller\u003C\/a\u003E, which can apply heat treatment to 20 hive frames of sealed cells at a time, and kill the mites in two hours.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018We are now in the market eight years with our product. We know beekeepers who started their hive seven years ago, and they have never lost a single hive due to \u003Cem\u003EVarroa\u003C\/em\u003E. From day one they started with our technology,\u2019 said Prof. Wimmer. The company is now scaling up the business to help reach new markets.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBeehives have to be continuously monitored to ensure that \u003Cem\u003EVarroa\u003C\/em\u003E mite levels are not critical. The maximum threshold for the number of Varroa mites within a healthy hive is 1,000. Any more, and the hive is under threat of collapse.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, mites are not the only threat to a hive\u2019s health \u2013 weather, chemicals and human activities are all potential threats. Countries in the EU are losing \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.nature.com\/news\/eu-states-lose-up-to-one-third-of-honeybees-per-year-1.15016\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Eup to a third\u003C\/a\u003E of their bee populations every year, and beekeepers need to be increasingly vigilant to ensure the bees will survive.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ETo tackle this, French start-up company Bee Angels has designed a new remote monitoring system which sends real-time alerts to beekeepers via a smartphone app if anything is amiss in the hive, allowing them to react instantly to problems.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EParasite presence is just one of the factors that the device monitors. It also has environmental sensors to provide beekeepers with constant, up-to-date information about the weather, atmospheric pressure and light intensity. Temperature and moisture measurements of a hive determine the bees\u2019 level of fatigue, while a video monitor highlights the presence of parasites.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBee Angels is now working on validating new sensors, implementing solar panels to power the system, and developing a market study confirming Bee Label\u2019s positioning. According to the start-up, beekeepers who are already using the first-generation device say it can reduce overall bee mortality by 40%, and save up to \u20ac1,500 per year.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003ETheft\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EAn alarm will also notify the beekeeper if the hive is on the move. According to Bertrand Laurentin, founder of Bee Angels, beehive theft is a growing issue.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EEarlier this year, forty beehives containing up to \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2018\/02\/28\/britains-biggest-bee-sting-one-million-insects-stolen-oxfordshire\/\u0022 target=\u0022_blank\u0022 rel=\u0022noopener noreferrer\u0022\u003Ea million bees were stolen\u003C\/a\u003E in one heist in the UK. As beekeeping has become more popular, and bee colonies are suffering from decline, the value of good quality beehives has increased significantly, with queen bees alone selling for as much as \u20ac200.\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u2018It\u2019s a very big problem, everywhere in Europe,\u2019 Laurentin said. \u2018But if the hive moves, you know where and what time. You have all the information.\u2019\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EThe companies in this article have received funding from the EU to scale up their innovations. 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