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Bioclimatic Beehives: An Animalistic aproach to ethical practices

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Bioclimatic Beehives:
An animalistic approach to ethical practices.
Vaquerín Moares, J. L., Navarro Sáez P.*
Asociación Centro de Innovación Medio Ambiental Matacimera. C/ Unión, 60 A Pobra do Caramiñal 15940 A Coruña
Phone +34 653295944

Available online J uly, 1th 2018

Abstract:

From the decade of the 40´s vegans consider that bee honey and subproducts are obtained by exploiting the bees. Actually, the
pro animalistic feeling of the society let us reconsider this position. Bioclimatic Beehives are technological equipments
developed in 2010 and we consider that the Good Beekeeping Practices done by the beekeepers actually lead to the best animal
care for the bees. Our goal is the study of the ethical practice of Beekeeping from an animalistic position.

2018 Asociación Centro de Innovación Medio Ambiental Matacimera. Total Free distribution.

Keywords: Bioclimatic Beehives, animalistic, ethical, Beekeeping, Honey, Vegans.

1. Intro

Most of vegans are against honey like a food. The reasons to This concludes that Beekeeping is not a practice wich follows
avoid honey are, mainly, that honey is considered an animal the Bee rights.
origin product, honey is obtained by exploiting the bees.
Beekeepers are not Good Beekeeping Practicers. Also, vegans All these criteria has not been variated from 40´s decade of
consider that honey is just the food for the bees. All these past century.
criteria has been defended during last 70 years with not any
significative variation in their arguments. Well, it is not our goal try to convence vegans about honey
Our work will try to confirm that the actual Beekeeping and beekeeping considerations. We don´t intend making a
practices are coherent with an animalistic approach to the discussion with vegans positions.
Bees. Bees are considered one of the most apreciated species
of the Biosphere, because it is fundamental in environmental Just, we will try to actualize the information for all the society
equilibrium. about the animalistic feeling of the actual Beekeeping, of
course vegans are wellcome.
Bioclimatic Beehives try to approach the technological
advances in Beekeeping and the Good Beekeeping Practices.
Previous works of Vaquerin et al relationed Bioclimatic
Beehives with a changing behaviour of Beekeepers focused to
a maximum respect to the Bees and also to the monitorization
of the environmental.

Vegans consider that Beekeepers steal the honey of the bees,

and they exploited them, also vegans think that Beekeepers
cut the wings to the queen.

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2.- 2014: An animalistic approach for Beekeeping.
Beekeeping, nowadays, is mainly considered by our society
like a friendly environmental practice. Vegans consider
Beekeeping like a not friendly activity for the bees.
For almost all the society Bees are considered fundamental for
environmental due the great importance of pollinations
processes.
The principal target of beekeeping is the honey production,
during last thousands of years Beekeepers has picked up the
honey in the florination period.
This work consist in a explanation of the actual Beekeeping
practices and share our conclusions with the society.
In first place, what is the Bee honey production for?
We can consider that the Bee Honey is produced by the bees
to share with the Mankind. Past criteria defended by vegans
consider that beekeepers steal all the honey. But actual
Beekeepers are environmental defendants, thus we think that
ancient beekeepers wasn´t like actual ones. It´s reasonable
thinking that the actual beekeepers are not the same that
beekeepers from seventy years ago.
Another consideration is valorate the bee honey production
and it´s finality. Honey is also considered the only food for
the bees and young bees. This means that honey is
fundamental for the survival of the bees and the beehive.
In wich proportion can we consider that sharing honey with
the Bees is ethical and a animalistic feeling?
The answer to this question has to be avalated with strong
arguments, the main criteria to build these ideas is consider
the best conditions for the bees. But wich are the best
conditions for the Bees?
Theorically, the best conditions are the following:
• beehive evolution
• food for the bees
• young bees
Also we can add the following:
• good climate conditions
• good health conditions
• good working conditions
• including a good emotional conditions
If we are able to answer all these points we can actualize
vegans criteria against honey consumption. To demonstrate
undoubtely these criteria pro animalistic feeelings we have to
use physical parametres and try to quantify it.
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3.- Bioclimatic Beehives: The future of Beekeeping
We remember that Bioclimatic Beehives can follow and
register all the physical parametres inside the beehive
specially temperature and humidity data.
Also we can follow the weight of the Beehive, this means that
we can consider the bee honey production and the beehive
population.
Our goal is determine how many honey can we detract from
the bee honey production to food the beehive. The only way
to answer this is consider the metabolic energy consumed by
the bees during the warming, the cooling and the humidity
control of the beehive.
The quantification of the energy transferences from the
beehive and the system are quite complicated. There are many
variables with very complex physics. We can estimate that the
beehive temperature is an average value and we have to
consider heat transferences and temperature gradients trough
the beehive.
Also we can evaluate that the air circulation inside the beehive
(natural or induced by the bees) are very complex to design a
theoretical model.
The only alternative, in a first stage, is demonstrate by
undoubtely arguments that the relationship Bee - Beekeeper is
a real symbiotic interaction.
In these kinds of relationships both species has to be
completily beneficiated without any doubt.
4.- Bioclimatic Beehives: Heat transfers and physical
variables to study.
Bioclimatic Beehives was first focused on the following of
physical parametres in order to know the inside and the
outside conditions of the beehive. Heating and cooling devices
were added to sure the best conditions for the bees in order to
increase the bee honey production. See Vaquerin et al (4)
2014. Humidity control it´s considered a fundamental
parametre in beehive health.
But now, we are not going to determine the inside parametres
of the beehive neither determine the outside parametres in
order to make any aproximation to the environmental situation
of the surroundings. See Vaquerin et al. (4) 2014.
Our goal is evaluate the Bee honey production in terms of
energetic data expresed in calories and compare these data
with the spent of energy in the heating/cooling and humidity
control of the beehives done by the bees. We can say with
absolutelly truly that bees spent energy in heating/cooling and
humidity control processes in the beehive. If we consider that
the honey production is the food of the bees, we can think that
all the honey picked up from a beehive is a stolen honey to the
bees, then we have to food the beehive.
Otherwise, if the beehive population is increasing we can
consider that all the members of the beehive are in good
conditions ( it es they have enough food and other basic
necesities ).
Then honey production can show the energetic balance of the
beehive, during the honey production period the energy
incomes has to be greater that the consumption. This data can
be expresed in calories.
In non producing period ( winter, mainly ) Bees need to be
feeded and actually they are feeded with honey, siropes and
glucose solutions.
5.- Energetic Balance
The energy consumption of the bees inside the beehive are the
following:
• heating processes
• cooling processes
• humidity control process.
We don´t consider other processes like honey picking up,
cleaning, defendant activities and others because these
processes are inherent to the bee honey production and cannot
be modified.
Spring and Summer: energetic processes
• cooling from 40 - 45º C to 35º C
• humidity control from 50 - 70% to 25%
• water disposal at the beehive/water refrigeration.
Winter: energetic processes
• Heating from 5º to 35º C
• humidity control from 50 - 70% to 25%
All these processes consums energy. We can say that we are
sure about it, but we can not know directly how much energy
has to be spent in these processes.
In order to know the quantities associated with these concepts
we can consider the following relations:
Heat consumed in increasing temperature processes. We can
use the formula:
Q = m x Ce x (Tf - Tº )
3
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where:
Q is heat necesary for the heating
m is the mass of the air inside the beehive
Ce is the air specific heat
Tf is final temperature reached
Tº is initial temperature
By example, in the heating processes from 5º - 35º C done by
the bees in winter we would need
m = 0,1792 Kg Q = Joules
Ce = 1. 012 J / K Kg Q = Joules x 0,24 = cal
T=ºK
Q1 = 652 cal From 20º - 35º C in summer
Q2 = 1.305 cal From 5º - 35º C in winter.
If we consider the frozing days, by expample
Q3 = 1.610 cal From -2º - 35º C
Using a psicometric diagram we can calculate the energetic
consumption of decreasing the huidity from 45% to 25% at
30ºC.
Q4 = 788.48 cal.
We see that:
• temperature control inside the beehive needs energy
• humidity control inside the beehive needs energy too.
All this energy has to be given by the bees. We are going to
show the metabolic consumption of energy of the bees
meanwhile they are heating/cooing or doing humidity control.
the rates are the following:
Bee energy comsumption by the bees meanwhile is flying:
0,006 cal / hour flight
The Bee honey production average data from 2013 is 13 kg /
beehive in Spain. If we express these data in energetic terms it
means that the energy production of the beehive has been:
13 kg x 3.400 cal / kg honey = 44.200 cal
The best bee honey production data can be nearly 50 kg /
beehive and its means aproximately 145.860 cal.
Then if we can demonstrate that our Bioclimatic Beehive give
to the systems energy between the above mentioned values we
can think that we have “share” work with the bees like in a
real symbiotic relationship.
T
The way to participate in the energy balance inside the
beehive is controlling temperature with thermal energy
devices and humidity control with ventilators. These
technical equipments can be operated automatically with a
temperature and humidity control program.
In this point, if we do “the work” inside the beehive, it means
that Bees has not to do this work again.
All these technological devices are the standard configuration
of Bioclimatic Beehives built, specially for this work, by
Denali Life Sciences & Technology, Ltd.
If bees has not to work in heating/cooling/humidity control we
can consider that they would work at growing chambers,
cleaning , defendant or just “rest” for the following day.
Another fundamental point is knowing how much honey can
we pick up from the Beehive.
In Spring and Summer, the bees are working and we expect
that we can pick up honey meanwhile the variation of weight
with the time presents a positive scope.
In Winter, the variation of weight with time has to be constant
and it means that the beehive use the necesary food from their
needings.
6.- Conclusions
Bioclimatic Beehives reveals like the best choice for Good
Beekeeping Practices. Also the actual feeling of the society
with the environmental and the animals make us be more
careful with animals rights. Not in order to be the only
beneficiated specie because we hace to consider the
ecosystem like a very complex system as is stablished in
Gaia´s Theory.
Finally, we can expect that Bee Honey production could
increase too much because our bees feels happy. Then they
are not exploited by the Beekeepers and live in a very
comfortable beehive.
Summarizing, our Bioclimatic Beehives:
• There are important energetic comsumptions inside
the beehive, and they are used for:
- Beehive temperature ( Heating / Cooling )
- Relative humidity inside the beehive ( control )
• if Beekeeper stay in a symbiotic relationship with the
beehive, means that beekeeper gives energy
(heating/cooling/humidity processes)
• The common profit of the symbiotic relationship:
- Bee: temperature and humidity conditions inside
the beehive is obtained
- Beekeeper: pick up honey from the beehive and
gives energy for the beehive.
• The honey production, expresed in calories, picked
up by the beekeepers has to bee less than the amount
of energy give by the beekeepers.
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• Cualitative calculations let us make initial
aproximation about the honey production of 2014.
During honey production (Spring and Summer ) we
can monitorize the honey disponibility by the
beekeeper. Beekeeper can controle the energetic
consumption in heating/cooling and humidity control
and comparing it with the variations of the Beehive
weight with the time. We can suppose that in Honey
production time the beehive has to increase the
weight of honey stored and for the increasing
population.
• if the scope of second derivade of the weight will
show us if we can pick up honey.
• In winter we have to keep the variation of weight
with time in a constant form.
• This symbiotic relationship between beekeeper and
apis mellifera can be clearly shown in a positive form
for both species. This demonstrate that bees are not
exploited by beekeepers.
• Our Bees share the honey with beekeepers and they
receive a bigger amount of energy expresed in
calories for Heating / Cooling and humidity control
processes.
• This symbiotic relationship with the bees let us
conclude that our collaboration received by the
beekeeper is completily positive for the bees and the
beehive survaiance, because it reduce the energetic
needings. The excess of energy can be dedicated to
the growing bees or honey or honey production and
also to the rest and bienestar of the bee.
• Bioclimatic Beehives are the technological
innovation more important for the interspecies
equilibrium as it´s said in Gaia´s Tehory.
• Honey obtained from Bioclimatic Beehives it is a
ecological responsible production system with no any
negative point from ethical aproximations and with
the maximum respect for Bee rights.
• We can think that our honey produced by Bioclimatic
Beehives could be named Happy Bee Honey and the
new working technics can translate in a better Good
Beekeeping Practices.
7.- Bibliography
Bioclimatic Beehives. Vaquerin et al 2018