Bees can now get their hives renovated — and it could save their lives | CBC News

A group of bees will be soon flying back to their hives after a long day of pollinating — only to find they’ve got a new front entrance on their hive.

And it’s not just a fancy new front porch.

ProtectaBEE is a honeybee hive entrance that can help protect the pollinators from pests and diseases. It’s red and appears to have nozzles for the entrance and exit to the hive.

Erica Shelley is the founder of Best For Bees and says the hive entrance was first created for bee vectoring — a process where bees walk through a biocontrol powder, which they shake off onto crops while getting pollen. The biocontrol powder protects crops and deals with the parasitic Varroa mite, which feeds on honeybees.

“That’s still in development, it’s a few years out,” Shelley said.

But in testing the product, Shelley said they found other benefits.

“The red colour actually is not easily seen by other insects,” she said.

“It actually is a protection against wasps and hornets and yellow jackets and even robbing bees from other hives and, it turned out, it actually protected against skunks and mice.”

The device was created in partnership between Best For Bees, a research and development company for beekeepers based in Kitchener, and University of Guelph researcher Peter Kevan.

The device is already getting international recognition.

Silver medal at global conference

ProtectaBEE has now been recognized on a world stage. The device won a silver medal from the World Beekeeping Awards, which were handed out at the Apimondia International Apicultural Congress in Chile last month.

Shelley says there were about 20 entries from developers and inventors from around the world, large machines down to smaller innovative ideas.

“To have the world’s experts look at your thing that you’ve invented and they’ve seen so many inventions come through over the years and then to award a medal to it, it was just that kind of honour,” she said.

“It also means we’re on the right track and what we’re working on is something that has meaning and is obviously worthwhile.”

While at the conference, Shelley and Best For Bees also launched a Big Bee data movement. She says she hopes it’s a way to collect data from beekeepers around the world to watch for trends.

“It might be pollution, it might be diversity, it might be pests, it might be forage that’s available and that, with using machine-learning, we can actually answer these big questions quickly,” Shelley said. 

“So we’re trying to have this movement … so that beekeepers can help beekeepers to solve the world’s bee crisis.”

Shelley says it’s very personal for her to protect bees.

“Bees are very important for our environment and also our food security,” she said. “Our ability to eat good food goes hand-in-hand with their survival.”

Varroa mites

Varroa mites feed on bees’ blood and protein reserves, and can spread viruses among bees and weaken their immune responses, according to Paul Kelly, research and apiary manager at the University of Guelph Honey Bee Research Centre. 

“The earlier the spring is, the more reproductive cycles these mites can go through,” Kelly said. “It’s like exponential growth.”

The centre is also testing the use of essential oils and organic acids to kill the mites without harming the bees, he said.