What does 3Bee do for bees and biodiversity?

We at 3Bee want to take stock. We want to give you a comprehensive overview and understand how you can concretely support bees, so that you too can really make a difference. These little insects have gone from being semi-unknown to becoming global players. Increasingly aware of their importance and the many dangers that threaten their survival, everyone has become more attentive and sensitive to the issues affecting these pollinators. Hence, many initiatives have sprung up with the aim of saving bees. 'Save the bees', 'Adopt a hive', 'Adopt the bees', 'adopt a hive' have thus become one of the most frequently used slogans. However, the misuse of this term, 'Save the Bees', has created some confusion and a lot of marketing. In fact, it has led to this statement being associated with everything to do with bees. What 3Bee does is extremely different and much more complex.

3Bee was born in 2017 from the encounter between Niccolò Calandri, an electronics engineer, and Riccardo Balzaretti, a biologist and beekeeper. The focus of 3Bee was initially on honey bees, later expanding to include solitary bees. 3Bee's goal is to create a dense network of people, honey consumers, enthusiasts, beekeepers, who can concretely get involved for the protection of bees and the sustainability of beekeeping. 3Bee is a for-profit company with a team of 20 people active on several projects. This commitment has made us realise that using the term 'saving bees' can sometimes be misleading and complicated. One risks creating the wrong image of what one is doing. Many people think that bees are saved by planting flowers in balconies, the truth is that the only way is to make the beekeeper much more than a keeper of bees. But, then, what do we at 3Bee do?

3Bee designed and realised a remote monitoring system for beehives. This IoT device consists of biomimetic sensors to be installed inside the hive. The main biological parameters can thus be monitored: weight, temperature, humidity and sound intensity. The analysis and control of these parameters, which are sent to the cloud and can be consulted from one's personal account, allows one to know the state of the hive and what is happening inside it. The Hive-tech service for beekeepers thus becomes an indispensable tool for correct, precise and sustainable hive management. It allows beekeepers to take targeted action when necessary, reducing consumption, stress on the animals, losses and deaths caused by climate change.

Remote monitoring also made it possible to develop the "Adopt a 3Bee Hive" project. This made it possible to connect the beekeeper and honey producer with the end consumer in a completely innovative way. By adopting a 3Bee hive, one can choose one of the hives made available and be able to monitor it for a whole year. You receive directly to your home the honey chosen from those produced by that particular beekeeper and can thus enjoy a quality, artisanal food that is a clear expression of the territory. This allows everyone to analyse and trace the production of honey and understand the management of the hive: environmental sustainability and animal welfare. A transparent and educational process. In this way, the beekeeper can sell the honey from his bees at a higher price than the retail price.

Adopting a 3Bee hive is not marketing: using the monitoring systems, however, allows for a broader action, which also involves specialised research centres: a) together with ESA (European Space Agency), we are developing the first predictive system to analyse biodiversity and assess where to intervene immediately to 'improve' it; b) with CREA (Council for Agricultural Research and Analysis of Agricultural Economics) we are developing algorithms for analysing starvation mortality. In fact, bees, not only honey bees, are facing an ever-increasing danger of starvation mortality due to adverse climatic trends that hinder plants in the production of nectar and increasingly poor and inhospitable natural habitats; c) in collaboration with the CNR (National Research Council) we develop intelligent systems to study pollination and how to defend bees during this process.

Another of 3Bee's objectives is to deepen the analysis of agrochemicals and their effects on bees. The desire to create an environmental map based on the data collected thanks to 3Bee systems and on specific analyses has led to several collaborations that are currently active. The development of this map will undoubtedly also have interesting implications for other pollinators, including lone bees.

3Bee has also developed a project for them and to raise awareness among individuals about these bees that are so little known in comparison to the more famous honey bees. The installation of Bee Hotels, i.e. shelters for solitary bees, the planting of bee-saving plants and increased attention towards these insects are certainly important. With the project Polly, 3Bee has contributed to the spread of the Osmia Rufa, a solitary bee already present in our peninsula, by providing ready-to-hatch cocoons and Polly House to thousands of people sensitive to the issue.

Amongst other projects in the pipeline, 3Bee intends to develop environmental redevelopment projects for 2022 in collaboration with the beekeepers in its network. Specifically, the aim is to implement a targeted planting service, particularly of melliferous essences and plants. The aim is to reclaim unused land by creating oases for bees, both honey and solitary. These oases will serve their indispensable sustenance.

This creates a very complex picture of all-round initiatives in favour of bees and the environment. Not least of all, 3Bee has also initiated a Call for Ideas focusing on all-round sustainability. The Call for Impactability was conceived as a contest to prize the 3 most environmentally and socially impactful and transformative ideas and projects. Targeting a very wide audience and evaluating numerous proposals at different levels of development, 3Bee sought to identify those with the most innovative solutions to problems that affect the entire community and that, if implemented, could generate a positive impact for all.

Having such a broad and multifaceted scope, 3Bee has consciously decided not to use the term 'saving bees'. Saving bees is a complex, difficult goal that requires the intervention of many actors on many levels. Talking about saving bees is misleading and, at times, even reductive. This is especially the case if it is associated with a reality that has clearly delineated its objectives. With 3Bee we want to support beekeepers who take care of honey bees, help scientific research in the field, raise awareness about solitary bees and create a bee-friendly world. Our goal is to create a virtuous network of people, beekeepers, institutions, supporters. We aim to protect bees through technology and increase the purchasing power of beekeepers. With cooperation and mutual help we aim for a more bee-friendly world.