Coverage
By hand: a few rows and a handful of hives per walk. HiveWatcher: every hive with a HiveNode and every section with a BeeNode, all day.
Comparison
Pollination monitoring vs manual counting
Most growers check pollination by hand: bite marks on tomato flowers, flight counts at the hive entrance, or misshapen fruit weeks later. Here is how those checks compare with continuous pollination monitoring by HiveWatcher, and where checking by hand still makes sense.
How growers check pollination today
In most greenhouses, pollination is checked by eye. The common methods are:
- Bite marks on tomato flowers. Bumblebees grip the flower while they vibrate the pollen loose, and leave brown marks on the anther cone. A grower or adviser walks the crop and estimates the share of flowers with marks. See how to check tomato pollination.
- Flight counts at the hive. You count the bees or bumblebees flying in and out of a hive for a minute or so, to judge whether the colony is still strong. See is my bumblebee hive still active?
- Looking at the fruit. In strawberries and other soft fruit, small or misshapen fruit shows where pollination fell short, but only weeks after flowering.
These checks work, and an experienced eye sees a lot. Their limits are time and timing: a check is a snapshot of a few rows at one moment, it is rarely recorded the same way twice, and a problem often shows only after fruit set has already suffered.
What continuous pollination monitoring adds
HiveWatcher measures the same things automatically, day and night. The HiveNode at each hive counts flights in and out and measures light and climate at the entrance. The BeeNode, the pollination sensor in the crop, counts flower visits with a camera; images are processed on the BeeNode itself and never leave the greenhouse. The HiveWatcher portal shows the results per greenhouse and section, and sends an alert when activity drops.
Manual counting and HiveWatcher side by side
The same questions about pollination, answered two ways.
Timing
By hand: you see a problem at the next check, or when the fruit shows it. HiveWatcher: an alert by email or text message on the day activity drops.
Context
By hand: the weather is remembered, not measured at the hive. HiveWatcher: flights and visits next to temperature, humidity and light, so you see why a day was quiet.
Records
By hand: notes on paper or in a spreadsheet, when there is time. HiveWatcher: a complete history per hive and section, to compare weeks, seasons and suppliers.
Labour
By hand: hours of walking and counting every week on a large farm. HiveWatcher: a few minutes in the portal, and you walk the crop where the data shows something is wrong.
What it shows
By hand: bite marks prove that a tomato flower was visited. HiveWatcher: colony activity and flower visits all day, every day. Bite marks remain a good spot check.
When checking by hand still makes sense
Manual checks stay useful, also with HiveWatcher:
- Spot checks. When the portal shows a quiet section, a quick look at the flowers tells you what is going on.
- Small areas. On a small farm with a few hives, a regular walk may be all you need.
- Calibration. In a pilot we compare the measurements with your own counts and bite mark scores, so you know what the numbers mean in your crop.
Pollination cost per hectare: labour and lost fruit
The cost of pollination per hectare is more than the hives you buy. Checking by hand takes labour every week, and a colony that fades unnoticed costs fruit set, class I fruit and weight. With measurements you place and replace hives where they are needed, instead of on a fixed schedule. See how many hives per hectare, and where to place them.
Precision pollination
Measuring every day, per hive and per section, is what we call precision pollination: you manage pollination with data, the way you already manage climate and irrigation. Read how HiveWatcher works, or see it for tomatoes, strawberries and sweet pepper.
Frequently asked questions
Does HiveWatcher replace checking bite marks?
Not completely. HiveWatcher shows every day where pollination is going well and where it is not, so you check bite marks where it matters instead of everywhere.
Does it work with bees and with bumblebees?
Yes. The HiveNode works with bee and bumblebee hives from any supplier.
How many sensors do I need?
That depends on the size of the greenhouse and the number of sections. A pilot usually starts with HiveNodes on a few hives and two BeeNodes in the crop. See pilots.
Are the counts reliable enough to act on?
Reliability is our first requirement: growers removed other systems because the counts were wrong. That is why we test in working greenhouses, together with growers, and compare with manual counts.
Compare it in your own greenhouse
In a pilot we put HiveWatcher next to your own checks, so you see the difference in your own crop.