B-box, the home hive that saves bees and allows you to produce honey at home

Bees are in danger, threatened by pesticides and chemicals used in intensive and industrial agriculture. It's not just these cute little black-and-yellow-striped insects that are under threat, but the entire ecosystem. With the increase in pollinator mortality, more than 70 crops are at risk, resulting in the loss of entire food varieties, including fruits and vegetables. Ninety percent of crops in nature have been pollinated by wild insects, which is why the survival of the planet depends on the survival of bees. In recent years, bee mortality has increased by 20% in Europe alone, especially, strangely enough, in rural and agricultural habitats. This is because the risk of exposure to harmful substances for bees is much higher in rural areas, and, paradoxically, urban and city environments can become havens for the repopulation of pollinating insects.

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DOMESTIC BEEHIVE

For this reason, many inventors and entrepreneurs are developing projects to support beekeeping, combining it with a modern approach, aided by technology and robotics. The latest project, fascinating in its simplicity, is by a pair of Italians, Roberto Pasi and Gabriele Garavini, who, driven by their love of bees, have decided to combine the ancient art of beekeeping with innovative and simple solutions that support the daily activities of those who care for these little insects: from high-tech hives designed for urban environments and domestic use, to sensors for professional beekeepers and farmers to monitor pollination.

Urban beekeeping tools for those who want to help repopulate bees on their balconies, while also producing excellent, unpolluted honey. This is because bees thrive in cities, are not threatened by herbicides and other poisons, and feed on the flowers on terraces and balconies. Thus, in 2018, the Faenza-based start-up Beeing was founded, launching a truly ultra-simple kit for urban hives: the B-Box. This two-part hive simplifies honey extraction without masks and gloves, and eliminates the risk of stings or harm to the bees.

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BEEING PROJECT

A truly designer home hive, designed for small spaces on balconies or terraces, with the bees living in one section and the honey accumulating in another, at a negligible cost, just over 500 euros.
The project, initially self-funded and entirely experimental, led, after a series of prototype sales in numerous cities such as Marseille, San Francisco, and Milan, to a dedicated crowdfunding campaign, as well as funding for the most innovative start-ups, such as that provided by the Emilia Romagna region.

And, indeed, the Beeing startup is truly innovative, combining the most advanced robotics and IT technologies with beekeeping, offering solutions not only to amateur beekeepers, but also, and especially, to professional beekeepers. Such solutions include anti-theft sensors. Every year, countless hives are stolen, and by installing B-Secure, a simple sensor based on GPS satellite tracking, hundreds of missing hives can be easily found. Finally, the second version of the device also allows purchasers to monitor the temperature and humidity in the hive in real time via an app, without disturbing the bees.

(Featured image and accompanying text taken from the Facebook page of BEEing)

AGRICULTURE AND INNOVATION:

• Agriculture 4.0: all the advantages of agricultural business networks, starting with new jobs.
• ApuliaKundi, the startup that produces nutrient-rich algae with an eco-sustainable supply chain.
• "Save," the Sicilian startup that transforms unsold food into animal feed.
• Maramao, a Piedmont-based social farming startup that reclaims uncultivated land and transforms it into community gardens.
• In Abruzzo, a farm where vegetables grow to the rhythm of Mozart's music.