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A sudden jump in a reading: event, treatment or error

Plan: Apisense PRO AI

A sudden jump in a reading usually comes from work at the hive: an inspection, a feeding, a treatment, or when you add or remove a super. Compare the time of the jump with the notes and inspections from that day. A fault is probable when the value is not possible in a hive and does not go back to normal after some hours.

How to find what caused the jump

  1. On the hive screen, select the Hive state tab.
  2. Tap the row with the parameter, for example Humidity. You see the chart.
  3. Open the chart in full screen and zoom in on the period of the jump. You see the hour of the change.
  4. Open the Notes and Inspection tabs. Check what was recorded on that day.
  5. When an entry from that time explains the jump, it is not a fault.

When no entry explains the jump, the cause is not known. Monitor the next measurements.

Record your work at the hive in notes

A note about work at the hive helps you to understand the data later. Always record a note when you:

  • do a treatment, for example with oxalic acid or formic acid,
  • add or remove a super or a box,
  • make a split,
  • move the VitalSensor to a different height in the brood nest,
  • move the hives to a different place.

You can add the note later. Then select the correct date.

A weight jump on the Scale

The Scale finds unusual decreases and increases of the weight. The app then asks What was it? and gives a list of answers, for example Harvest, Feeding, Inspection, Swarm, Nothing relevant (e.g. a Scale measurement error). Your answer describes the event. The details are in the Weight and harvest section.

Treatments and the VitalSensor

You can do treatments, for example with oxalic acid or formic acid, with the VitalSensor in the hive. Record the treatment in a note.

Formic acid changes the VitalSensor readings during the treatment:

  • The humidity increases. For a short time, the reading can show more than 100%. This is caused by the acid vapour, it is not a fault.
  • The temperature near the VitalSensor can decrease by 1-2 °C. This is the reaction of the colony to the treatment.
  • High humidity readings usually continue for up to one week from the start of the treatment. After approximately 3 weeks, the readings go back to normal.

Do not put the evaporator or a cloth with acid on the VitalSensor or directly above it. Do not spray the VitalSensor with lactic acid.

At each inspection, check that the bees did not close the openings of the VitalSensor with propolis or wax. Keep the openings open. See How to clean the VitalSensor from propolis and wax. Do not wash the VitalSensor with hot water, do not wash it under water and do not put it into water.

When it is a device fault

A fault is probable when:

  • the value is not possible in a hive, for example humidity of more than 100 %,
  • the value does not go back to normal after some hours.

Then write to bee@apisense.ai and give the serial number of the device. We will arrange a replacement. In this case, a battery replacement does not help.

See also