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Scientists identify culprit behind biggest-ever U.S. honey bee die-off

(www.science.org)
186 points pseudolus | 10 comments | 01 Jul 25 10:35 UTC | HN request time: 1.031s | source | bottom
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oezi ◴[01 Jul 25 14:56 UTC] No.44434518[source]▶
There are some technological ideas to help bees be healthier such as special bee hives which have more natural topology and help the bees spend less energy on cooling/heating the hive. Example for a cylindrical hive: https://www.hiive.eu/en/
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1. tantalor ◴[01 Jul 25 15:20 UTC] No.44434789[source]▶
We could install HVAC in each hive.

Can heat pumps be scaled down to that size?

replies(4): >>44434883 #>>44434897 #>>44434915 #>>44435296 #
2. colanderman ◴[01 Jul 25 15:27 UTC] No.44434883[source]▶
Peltier heat pumps, though less efficient than other types, can be made very small and have no moving parts.
replies(1): >>44435551 #
3. newsclues ◴[01 Jul 25 15:28 UTC] No.44434897[source]▶
there are simple, no power, designs that have existed for a long time that would be a better way to go.

kiss

replies(1): >>44434992 #
4. cogman10 ◴[01 Jul 25 15:29 UTC] No.44434915[source]▶
You don't typically have just 1 hive. It's usually a group of them.

You wouldn't need an HVAC per hive, but rather 1 HVAC for the swarm. Get a water mass, HVAC it to the right temperature, and then pump the water through the hives to maintain a good temp.

It'd be somewhat more expensive and you'd have to have enough insulation to make sure the water isn't prematurely cooling before reaching the hive.

Hives also tend to be really cheap. They are simply wood boxes. So you'd be competing with $100 wood box with $200 wood box and $1000 HVAC and plumbing.

5. aspenmayer ◴[01 Jul 25 15:37 UTC] No.44434992[source]▶
I'm thinking something like a wind-powered rotating attic fan.
replies(1): >>44436516 #
6. waffletower ◴[01 Jul 25 16:04 UTC] No.44435296[source]▶
There may be passive geothermal heat pump architectures that would be a good fit. Surprised that you can still learn about geothermal heat pumps from the U.S. government: https://www.energy.gov/eere/geothermal/geothermal-heat-pumps
replies(1): >>44436747 #
7. joshstrange ◴[01 Jul 25 16:29 UTC] No.44435551[source]▶
> though less efficient than other types

IIRC they are _massively_ less efficient. Relevant Technology Connections video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CnMRePtHMZY

8. newsclues ◴[01 Jul 25 18:03 UTC] No.44436516{3}[source]▶
No power and no moving parts are good design goals.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windcatcher

Perforated Double Skinned Exterior

Lots of cool tech from the past

replies(1): >>44436592 #
9. aspenmayer ◴[01 Jul 25 18:10 UTC] No.44436592{4}[source]▶
Sometimes the old ways are best. To paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, sometimes the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason, or they'd just call it the way.

Who benefits most from old methods and tech remaining a historical footnote, but the very people selling their new whiz-bang solutions for modern problems, which are themselves inherent to using their products and energy production and consumption supply chain?

10. ted_dunning ◴[01 Jul 25 18:27 UTC] No.44436747[source]▶
Commercial hives need to be portable. Geothermal isn't that.