Starting in around 2011, new technology began to pop up on beekeeping forums worldwide. A new startup, called Arnia, a UK based beekeeping company, was making waves by claiming that they could monitor hive health using acoustics. This was not a new phenomenon, similar research had been done in the past during the 1950s, but combined with a database of hive noises and the ability to access that data in real-time, it seemed too good to be true. Flash forward to 2020, and Arnia is becoming more mainstream. Arnia has since expanded its monitoring setup, including a hive scale, hive humidity, and temperature sensors. 

Now, beekeepers can be armed with up-to-date knowledge about their hives from their smart devices. This can be incredibly useful to catch diseases and prevent over or under heating of the colony and compare data among multiple hives. You can learn more about Arnia here. 

Do you or someone you know keep bees? We want to hear your story! Pace University’s Pace Docs crew is in the process of producing a documentary about Urban Beekeeping, the latest in a series of award-winning environmentally and culturally relevant documentaries from our department. Contact us at paceudocs@gmail.com. And follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Tik Tok for more content!