Adopt a technological hive and help save bees , insects essential to life on Earth.

It is possible thanks to 3bee , an Italian start-up that provides beekeepers with software capable of remotely monitoring the health of the hives and their inhabitants. With undoubted advantages in economic and environmental terms.

SOS: bees are in danger

A fundamental link in the entire food chain, bees can be considered true champions of biodiversity. According to the European Food Safety Authority , out of 100 crop species that provide 90% of the world’s food needs, 71 are pollinated thanks to the tireless work of bees.

Yet it is precisely the work of man  – who more than any other benefits from the industriousness of small insects – constitutes the greatest threat to them.

Global warming, indiscriminate use of pesticides, overbuilding, monocultures, introduction of alien species into ecosystems : all these phenomena, together with natural causes such as diseases and parasites, contribute to exterminating bees. 

In 2008, the first massive die-off took place in Italy, with the disappearance of more than half of the beekeeping heritage in various hives in northern and central Italy.

Also according to the European Food Safety Authority, the number of bees has dropped dramatically in Western European countries – including France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain – and in North America.

” There are no more hives on the trees , ” 3bee notes on her website . “This is because without the care of beekeepers they cannot resist in an increasingly less hospitable world, where nature is in danger. Our technology is not intended to replace the work of the beekeeper, but to allow new regenerative and sustainable practices “.

3bee, how it works

An agri-tech company that aims to protect the health of bees , 3bee has developed intelligent systems for remote monitoring and diagnostics of the hive.

Thanks to its technology, beekeepers are able to constantly monitor hives in order to prevent problems and diseases.

In this way, it is possible to optimize the production of honey, without using invasive or unsustainable methods.

Adopt a beehive: concrete help for bees and beekeepers

Born in 2018, the “ Adopt a beehive ” program allows you to support the work of a beekeeper from a distance. Through the online platform, it is possible to decide which reality to support, choosing within a network of sustainable beekeepers. 

Following the payment of a fee, the user obtains an adoption certificate and can monitor in real time the data on the health of the hive (weight, humidity, temperature, sounds), remotely monitoring its growth thanks to the 3Bee sensors.

In due course, he will also receive the honey produced thanks to his support directly at his home .

The results of the project

600 million pollinated flowers, 1,000 adopted hives, for a total of 60 million protected bees : these are the data released by 3bee in relation to the hive adoption program. 

“ In 2 years we have developed a network of 10,000 beekeepers throughout Italy who help us, follow and use our technology ” say Niccolò Calandri, founder and CEO of 3Bee, and Riccardo Balzaretti, founder and CTO of 3Bee .

“ Thanks to this network we have created the research, development and circular economy program Adopt a beehive. Following the success of the project and the growing requests, we decided to adapt it and make it available to all companies that are attentive to green issues of environmental sustainability “.

And so, in parallel with the “Adopt a beehive” initiative , 3Bee has also developed a program aimed at companies. It is called ” Pollinate the Planet ” and intends to promote the networking of individual or collective realities that intend to work in the direction of protecting biodiversity.