Have you ever considered beekeeping as a hobby? Would you enjoy the ticking time-bomb sensation that comes with keeping hundreds of bees under glass inside your home, as opposed to in the backyard or at some other safe distance from your living room? If you answered yes to both of these questions, the BEEcosystem might be for you.
Described as an observational honeybee hive, these 21-inch by 18-inch hexagonal displays are intended to be wall-mounted and feature a clear glass front that lets users stare into the bee abyss, as Business Insider reports.
When mounted indoors, the units come with a clear transfer tube that runs outdoors via a window sash so bees can forage for pollen. (If the tube gets dislodged, an auto-closing mechanism ensures that bees don’t invade your home.) The company strongly recommends that the units be mounted on wall studs to accommodate the weight of the bees and their honey.
The BEEcosystem also has a sliding feed panel so that you can nourish your new colony with water and table sugar, as well as a light-filtering cover so the bees aren’t disturbed by artificial light sources in the evening. The units can also be chain-linked to accommodate growing populations
You might be wondering if—angry bees in your kitchen aside—this is actually a good idea. When the BEEcosystem was beginning to get press during its developmental stages in 2015, some beekeepers voiced concerns about whether the consistently warm temperatures of indoor living might influence a bee’s life cycle, or if they might be more prone to disease. Since there's not yet a surplus of people with bee displays mounted on their dining room walls, no one's quite sure yet, but you can see how the system works in the video below.
You can preorder the hives, which are expected to ship later this year, for $599 each.
Installation_source from Mike on Vimeo.
[h/t Business Insider]
This article was originally published on www.mentalfloss.com as This Buzzed-About Modular Hive System Lets You Keep Your Bees Indoors.
