Technology

A 13-year-old responds to the threat to honey by printing a beehive for 40,000 bees

It is a system of interlocking hexagonal modules.

Update: Jul 23rd, 2025 19:41 CEST

In recent years, bee populations have been decimated. In addition to problems linked to human activity and pesticides, the arrival of invasive species such as the Asian hornet has wreaked havoc on bee populations. This, of course, has affected honey production and the natural ecosystem. Aware of this, 13-year-old Oliver Taylor has designed a modular beehive that serves as a refuge for at least 40,000 bees (via Popular Science).

The hive, designed using a system of interlocking hexagonal modules, is located in his bedroom, although the bees access it from the outside through a tube that connects to the inside of the hive.

The boy used an open-source 3D printer (Prusa) and free Blender software to design it. This way, anyone interested in honey pollination can benefit from this work. “I just thought I would build my own,” Oliver said.

A 13-year-old responds to the threat to honey by printing a beehive for 40,000 bees

A flaw in commercial beehives

Taylor detected a design flaw in commercial beehives and set out to fix it. A single door increases the likelihood of escape when installing new modules, so he devised a double-door system inspired by the airtight compartments of submarines.

The modular hive is expandable, providing the opportunity to increase the bee colony, as long as there is sufficient space. Of course, projects of this type contribute their grain of sand to finding solutions to very complex problems.