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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: Chris Medico <trackgeeks AT gmail.com>
  • To: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • Cc: Orange County Beekeepers Association <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Tiny Cameras for hive inspection
  • Date: Fri, 27 Mar 2015 10:45:01 -0400

I have a friend with one and if I can borrow it sometime I'll see what I can do with it.

These are the tiny cameras on a flexible stalk that can be inserted into the hive and moved around. We use them to inspect the interior of pipes and other really small places. I would expect to be able to maneuver the camera into the center of the hive. It would be interesting to see how the bees react to it.

--
Chris Medico

On Fri, Mar 27, 2015 at 10:35 AM, Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com> wrote:
Chris,

There are websites out there with webcams where you can watch the inside of hives, so this idea is both clever, fun and doable.

The caveat is that usually all of the real action in a hive is in the centermost section of the centermost frames, so a camera in the box walls won't show anything interesting. Another caveat is that a healthy, strong hive has so many bees in it that the comb faces & brood won't be visible -- there will be bees in the way.

A camera aimed at the entrance that lets you see the traffic coming and going would tell you a LOT about the strength and activity of a hive.

Note that if the goal is to observe & learn how the life of a hive works, an observation hive is a time-honored way of doing that (Aristotle had one).

All that being said, I would love to see what results you get.

Randall


On 3/27/2015 10:22 AM, Chris Medico wrote:
Has anyone used a borescope for inspecting a hive without opening it?

Borescope cameras have really dropped in price and could be inserted in a few small strategically placed holes along the sides of the hive to get a good view without major disturbance to everyone inside.

I'm not suggesting this to take the place of opening the hive up but to augment the ability to keep an eye on the colony in a possibly less invasive way and maybe during a time when they would be more sensitive to being tinkered with. The cameras are MACRO and can offer a really close view of the bees and the cells.

--
Chris Medico


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