We’re happy to announce that our first prototype Bee Cube™ has been built and is now filled with 20 honeybee colonies.
Our prototype was built by two very talented builders, Chase and Hugh McNeil of
McNeil Homes. We used wood wherever possible to allow for changes to be made on the fly as we thought about how to integrate beehives into a small structure. We also decided to fill the Bee Cube™ with smaller ‘nuc’ boxes instead of regular Langstroth hives so that we could develop processes to maximize colony splitting and queen rearing.
The primary purpose of the Bee Cube™ is to support beekeepers who want to split
colonies and raise queens to replace colonies that die through the winter or to add to their colony numbers. Beekeepers now rely primarily on imports of honeybees from foreign sources which is costly and increases the potential to import diseases and pests. Our goal is to become leaders in the development of a sustainable beekeeping industry in North America.
Our next steps are to add a solar powered, remote controlled HVAC system to the Bee Cube™ and to integrate a range of sensors to provide data on temperature, humidity, sound, weight, and CO2 levels to beekeepers who operate the Bee Cube.
I’ve been working on this idea for the past three years and it feels good to finally have the first prototype established. I’ve had a lot of help along the way and I’m grateful to all the people who have been supporting me. It’s been a busy week, but we got it done!
Herman Van Reekum
April 30, 2024
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