Bees are also of great importance for agriculture. They pollinate not only flowers, but also fruit and vegetables. Without bees, agricultural crops would not grow and bear fruit. Our farmers’ production would be considerably smaller and the supermarket shelves would be empty. It’s safe to say that bees are not unimportant as an economic factor either. Honeybees pollinate around 80 percent of our plants. But bees, like many other insects, are under threat: global warming, environmental pollution, intensive agriculture, the use of pesticides and the increasing loss of biodiversity are all taking their toll on beneficial insects.

The smart beehive

At Telekom, we take care of bees, and we do so with the use of cutting-edge technology. In the “Magenta Blossom” field, we have equipped our own beehives with IoT technology, among other things. IoT stands for “Internet of Things,” or the intelligent networking of devices. This technology ensures that devices can communicate with each other by exchanging data and information. The sensors in the hives constantly record temperature and weight trends. This allows us to gain detailed information about the development of the bee colonies and their honey production. The best part? You can even follow the whole process live on the Internet on a dashboard.