There are already ant farms that let people watch ants, and even a sealed termite colony for folks who prefer something a little different. Now there's the round, transparent Ivry-B beehive, that allows users to engage in some quality bee-watching.
Currently the subject of an Indiegogo campaign, the Ivry-B was invented by Israeli brothers Eran and Yuval Ivry, both of whom are industrial designers and amateur beekeepers.
The setup consists of a horizontal cylindrical main hive made of clear polycarbonate, which is surrounded by an insulated laser-cut plywood shell. When users wish to simply watch the bees, they just remove the shell's top cover and have themselves a gander. When they want to harvest the honey, they also remove the top half of the polycarbonate hive and pull out the wax honeycombs.
That said, there is less disruptive way of getting the honey. If an optional Upper Drawer is used in place of the existing top half of the hive, the bees can build their honeycombs in it, then retreat to the bottom half when those honeycombs are collected.
The Ivry brothers point out that by being able to look into the hive without opening it, users can gauge the readiness of the honeycombs without actually going in and lifting them out – so the bees are less stressed. Additionally, the round design is claimed to replicate the shape of natural beehives, plus it allows debris to roll to the very bottom where the bees can push it out of either of the two entrances/exits.
The Ivry-B is being offered in the form of a kit that users should be able to easily assemble without any tools. A pledge of US$425 will get you one, assuming everything works out – the planned retail price is $550.
There's more information in the video below.
