Automated Honeybee Trap
A device that automatically captures honeybees during swarming by using a weight-sensitive trap and pheromones to attract them
VISION
We’re Changing the Way the World capture honey bees
Team 11 developed a device that automatically captures honeybees during swarming by using a weight-sensitive trap and pheromones to attract them. Swarms often move to inaccessible areas or travel too far away, resulting in the loss of up to half of their colony. Swarming can be caused by poor hive management, overcrowding, starvation, climate, pests, and diseases.
SERVICES
Catpure Honey bees
WELCOME!
Welcome! We are team 11 “MFC”, which consists of Suzzette, Raquel, Luis, and Jerry who worked on this project during the Spring and Fall of 2023. Our project is titled “Automatic Honeybee Swarm Trap”. The problem we tackled was to increase the efficiency of bee capture when they are in the process of swarming (colony division). We developed a device that automatically captures honeybees during swarming by using a weight-sensitive trap and pheromones to attract them. We hope that you enjoy this project as much as we did.
WHAT IS THE PROBLEM WE ARE TRYING TO SOLVE?
The beekeeping community encounters a significant challenge when attempting to capture bees during swarming or colony division, as swarms often move to inaccessible areas or travel too far away, losing up to half of their colony. Swarming can be caused by poor hive management, overcrowding, starvation, climate, pests, and diseases, leading to colony collapse disorder and decreased honey production. Beekeepers use different methods to collect swarms such as a combination of swarm commanders applied to a compostable flowerpot to capture these swarms, but these methods are not foolproof. It is essential to have a solution that enables easy relocation and safe shelter for the bees to avoid the collapse of one or both hives and to prevent them from swarming to inconvenient areas.
