A new kind of honey bee hive can harvest honey without hurting the bees
In this new world of free information, dangerous or global catastrophes are brought to the forefront much more quickly. The honey bee colony collapse disorder (CCD) really hit the mainstream around 2007 and it seemed most people were dumbfounded. People raised their voices in concern, but news that entire populations of honey bees were dying off (or even disappearing) was extremely troubling news for the environment. Bees help pollinate plants and keep the ecosphere alive; they are a phenominally social insect and have, in many ways, perfected the hive mind.
Watch them cook an intruding hornet by surrounding it, vibrating and raising their body temperature
So, bees make honey, and people like to eat it. It's sweet and good for you. One problem with bee keeping throughout the years is that in order to retrieve the honey the bee keepers pump smoke into the hive and flush the bees out. It's disruptive and dangerous for the bees.
This new hive may change that. The bees deposit the honey and seal it in to to a plastic tray inside the hive that is shaped like a honeycomb. When you turn a spigot, the plastic tray opens in half on the inside and dumps the honey into a jar you set under the nozzle. It's a fantastic and exciting way to protect the bees when you take their food.
Ethics aside, the "Flow Hive" has amassed $3.3 million through an indiegogo campain and still has 38 days remaining to fund. It's aquired %4,816 of it's intended fundraising goal of $70,000. There is defiinitely a desire to do something better for the bees. Is this it?
Critics have said that you still are supposed to open the hive from time to time to check on the bees; mites can kill them if unattended. Also the use of a plastic tray has people worried about chemicals leeching into the honey, though no BPA is used in the plastic.
It seems like a step in the right direction. A big part of the veganism movement surrounding honey is the vicious treatment in smoking them out of their homes. As long as you don't take more honey than they need (they eat it too) this seems like a great way to aquire the goods.
Image credit: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/flow-hive-honey-on-tap-directly-from-your-beehive