GPS SMARTBEE Dadant US beehive anti-theft locator

01 · THREE YEARS AND TWO ARE NOT THE SAME

The two figures, apart

The price includes three years of tracking and connection: no monthly subscription, no maintenance, no added charges during that period.

The battery is another matter: it lasts on the order of two years counting around five migrations a year, and when it runs down it is replaced. Two different clocks running at once, which is why it pays to be clear about them. If you are buying with the fourth year in mind, ask us what happens when the three are up before deciding.

02 · IT LIVES IN THE TOP BAR

Where it is and what it takes

The chip is built into the top bar of a standard 48 × 30 cm Dadant frame — measured lug to lug — and stays out of sight: whoever opens the hive sees one more frame.

The frame is handled like any other and takes the extractor without trouble, which is where you would fear for it. What you should not do is mark it: put a sign on it to recognise it and you have put one there for whoever should not.

03 · ANDROID ONLY, PLUS WEB PANEL

The buying detail worth checking

Control is through the mobile app, available for Android only, and through a web panel. If your phone is an iPhone, you will have the web panel but not the app.

The network carrying the coordinates is deployed across Spain, Portugal, France, Italy and other European countries, so cross-border migration is covered. If you have any trouble with access or signal, write to us and we will look into it — support goes through us.

04 · IT WARNS, IT DOESN'T PREVENT

What it does and what it does not

A tracker does not stop a theft: it detects that the hive is moving, alerts your phone and tells you where it is at any moment. That changes completely what you can do afterwards, but it does not change what happens that night.

And on hiding it: it sits where nobody looks, which is its best card. That said, anyone searching with a radio-frequency detector could find it — what it gives you is discretion, not invisibility.

05 · IF THEY GO, CALL IT IN

The step that avoids the bigger trouble

Having the position in your hand is a temptation to go yourself. That is not the way: what is called for is to report the theft and hand the location to the authorities, who are the ones who can go in and recover.

The value of the device is exactly there — going from «eight hives were stolen» to «eight hives were stolen and they are at these coordinates». One administrative note: systems like this have been eligible under Spain's national beekeeping aid scheme, but calls for applications change: check the current one if you are counting on it.

06 · BEFORE YOU BUY

This is the frame with the chip: