Fight colony collapse disorder in your own backyard with open-source beehive designs that you can download and build yourself. The Open Source Beehives Project is currently raising funds on IndieGoGo, where supporters receive instructions to build their own high-tech hives or receive pre-made kits. Fusing traditional beekeeping with modern technology, the two available designs can be hooked up to the internet to provide researchers with invaluable data about colony health and the treats facing bees all over the world.
Open Source Beehives from Open Tech Collaborative on Vimeo.
The hives include special electronic sensors that supply a team of scientists with geolocation, humidity, temperature, bee numbers and other crucial data. They’re specially designed to give the bees a comfortable, low-stress place to live, rather than to maximize honey production a la commercial hives.
Intelligent Beehives from Nomasdf on Vimeo.
If you can’t keep your own bees, you can still support the project by either purchasing a miniature model beehive, or ‘adopting’ a hive in Denver or Barcelona, which includes updates via email on the progress of your bees. Learn more at IndieGoGo.

