BEEKEEPING AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES: NEW GREEN TECHNOLOGY IS NOW PART OF A THOUSAND YEAR OLD PROFESSION. CREATING VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES, E-COMMERCE, AND BEEHIVE REMOTE CONTROL: HIGH TECH SUPPORTS BEEKEEPERS

Man, bees and an iPad: it’s still difficult to imagine this scene, but it will be normal in the near future, thanks to the input of new technologies in this age-old profession. Being a beekeeper means being patient and working manually, in a natural environment, using simple and traditional tools – a mask, overalls and a smoker. But, in recent years the new generation of educated beekeepers and geeks are working together using Internet to remotely control the hives, build virtual communities and sell honey online.

How high tech is changing the world of beekeeping will be discussed at one of industry’s most important events, “Honey Week" in Montalcino (September 7-9th).

In the traditional world of Italian agriculture, new technologies are struggling to establish themselves- according to ISTAT that just released the results of the sixth agriculture census, less than 4% of Italian farms use Internet - beekeeping instead is the exception. The cause of the deep technological gap between the rural world in general and that of the much more limited beekeeping world is mainly the beekeeper figure. His identikit: well-educated (60% have high school diplomas, 20% have a university degree), regularly attends specialized courses and conferences, has a daily relationship with insects and flowers, is in close contact with nature, but at the same time consults extensively on his PC or iPad.

Many people have become beekeepers after having worked at another job, often in the city: it is a small army of diverse and complex "dreamers" that are convinced of working at a difficult but beautiful profession and they combine the love of nature with high tech.

How are new technologies used in beekeeping? First of all, keeping in touch. Italian beekeepers, from Val d'Aosta to Sicily, are united in a powerful virtual community that passes through the network. Sites, forums and blogs are constantly updated and through internet, beekeepers keep up to date on the news in the sector, which in recent years has been - especially after the case of neonicotinoid insecticides, killer substances used in agriculture and the main culprits for the death of bees all over the world, and which the Ministry of Agriculture has often suspended as a precautionary measure - subject to a number of "twists".
It was also the network tam tam created by beekeepers that sounded the alarm on neonicotinoids, and raised awareness to the public and the institutions. But the web is also useful to find out when and how to perform certain treatments, to receive phytoiatric newsletters and the calendar for treatments, for more efficient and thorough actions to raise awareness across the country. Using the web for remote control of beehives is still in the experimental phase: beekeepers who use the nomad method, i.e., taking their bees to different places, often far away, can control them remotely in the field with a special computer that records and transmits the weight of the hives, and therefore they can monitor how the harvest is going, as well as the weather conditions of that area.
Finally, there is e-commerce.
The internet is the perfect showcase that allows even small beekeeping companies to offer their products to a huge audience of potential buyers. New technologies are definitely positive for this age old profession: beekeeping is one of the few sectors that allows one to link protecting the environment to the creation of excellent food products and can rely on the strength of 50.000 beekeepers, 1.1 million beehives and an estimated turnover of 60 million euros, not forgetting the billions made through pollinating crops and nature.