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Using a Thermal Camera for Beekeeping

Thermal Cameras Beehives And Bee Removals

A thermal camera or infared camera made by FLIR or SEEK is indispensable when it comes to locating bees inside a wall or estimating a bee hives strength with minimal interference.

They do an excellent job detecting the changes in surface temperature so that what is behind the surface is revealed. And this is exactly what you need as a beekeeper to locate a feral colony inside a building or simply just check the strength and location of your winter clusters in your normal hives.

FLIR= Forward Looking Infrared

If you remove bees from buildings or are interested in starting to, a thermal camera is worth the purchase. It can save a lot of time, increase your confidence, help keep cost low and increase the homeowners confidence in you.

Using an infrared camera will quickly identify where an established hive is, and most importantly, where it isn’t. Often, wild hives are built right up to the stud or rafter in a home and knowing where the hive stops can help you make cuts into the drywall or flooring in the right spot.

Three beehives side by side
Three beehives side by side showing the center of the brood nests. The hive on the far right is very weak compared to the hive on the left.
A strong colony in late winter
A strong colony in late winter showing the cluster is towards the top of the hive. Notice the temperature on the outside of the box is 22° F.
A strong colony with the cluster
A strong colony with the cluster in the middle of the hive with the heat from the hive collecting under the inner cover.
A hive showing the location of the brood nest
A hive showing the location of the brood nest in the top 3rd box. Likely, there is not much honey in the bottom box and it is likely empty comb. Before winter starts, it is best to consolidate a hive down to just the boxes being used, so ideally, the bottom empty box would be removed.
the core of the brood nest
A great image showing the core of the brood nest that is close to the side of the box, rather than in the center of the box. The warm, bright yellow area near the telescoping cover shows the warm air condensing on the inner cover.
A great comparison of 3 colones
A great comparison of 3 colones, notice that one of them is extremely strong and the one on the far right is weak. The colony with the large brood nest has a high risk of starvation in the early spring. If they don’t starve because they have been working so hard, they are likely to swarm very early in the spring.
A colony has built in the space
A colony has built in the space above this apartment bathroom
A colony has built in the space
The same space showing where the colony starts and stops between the rafters
The space where a beehive
The space where a beehive has built it’s hive between the 1st and 2nd floor.
The same space with the bee hive revealed with the thermal camera.
The same space with the bee hive revealed with the thermal camera.

A large colony that has built between the studs of an outdoor storage shed. You can see where the core of the brood nest is.

The same space with the bee hive revealed with the thermal camera.

Thermal Camera Hardware For Iphone And Android

The hardware required is just a phone (which you probably have) and a thermal camera that attaches to the port on the phone. It doesn’t actually use the phones camera to work, it just uses the screen to see what the thermal camera is seeing.

If you have an Android phone with a USB-C charging port on the bottom, this is the camera you need. To check to see if your phone is compatible, click here.

FLIR-ONE for Android Phones

FLIR-ONE for Android Phones

If you have an iPhone , this is the camera you need. To check to see if your phone is compatible, click here.

FLIR-ONE for Iphones

FLIR-ONE for Android Phones

The cameras are very important, but we would recommend also getting a small extension cable to make it easier to handle. Sometimes you will want to point the camera in a direction that is in a place where you phone can’t go. This is the extensions for the android and the iPhone.

Adam Hickman
Adam Hickman
Adam Hickman owns Foxhound Bee Company and is a certified EAS Master Beekeeper. Before ever selling a box through Foxhound Bee Company, Adam wrote beekeeping blogs for education. Adam regularly teaches beekeeping classes through Foxhound Bee Co and also through his local beekeeping club
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