The passion for bees originates on our family farm in the forest of Eastern Bavaria in Germany. Two Brothers – Richard and Christian Wolf – being fascinated by beekeeping and step by step deepening their involvement. With a short period of time the number of bee hives increased while being confronted to the first challenges. We wanted to know more about our little friends. For instance how changes in weather conditions influences bee’s behaviour or which factors relates to in-/ decreasing honey yields. There were so much to discover, so many data to analyse- best by using a smartphone or tablet. Consequently, we had the idea of an intelligent hive scale with appropriate sensors and suitable software for data analysis. Outside and breeding chamber temperature, rainfall, humidity, wind, total weight and even more factors should have been measured and analysed. After having successfully passed the prototype phase, the Wolf-hive scale was born – robust, intelligent and fully functional.

Meanwhile, we programmed the corresponding software, to analyse the captured measurement data on a PC, tablet or smartphone. Additionally, we developed the Wolf-SIM card which transmits the measurement data via mobile network. It ensures all data being up-to-date. The following years were dominated by further tests, developments and product extensions which were unique in the world of beekeeping at that time. The Wolf- hive scale stands for innovation, progressiveness and user friendliness. Finally, the hive scale with its software were ready for the market. Having in mind where we come from and how we started, we sell our hive scales to several European countries. The Wolf-team is represented on almost every German- speaking fair. After the sudden death of Richard Wolf in 2020, his brother Christian continued the business. Still we are optimistic and about to optimise and develop the scale and software. Recently, we initiated the Wolf- hive scale community, enabling participating beekeepers to share their measurement data with other German, Austrian and Swiss apiarists. Further developments, as for instance a more basic and less cost intensive scale are in process.