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πŸ—ΊοΈ Hive Placement Planner

🎯 Purpose​

Plan optimal hive placement within your apiary by visualizing sun movement, shadow patterns, and spatial relationships. Prevent common placement mistakes before physically setting up your hives.

🎭 User Story​

  • As a beekeeper planning my apiary layout
  • I want to simulate sun movement and visualize shadows from trees and buildings
  • So that I can position hives optimally for productivity while avoiding north-facing entrances and flight path collisions

πŸš€ Key Benefits​

  • Sun Simulation: Watch the sun move from East β†’ South β†’ West around an intuitive compass
  • Realistic Shadows: See polygonal shadows cast by both obstacles and hives throughout the day
  • Interactive Canvas: Drag hives and obstacles, rotate entrances, resize objects with visual handles
  • Instant Feedback: All changes auto-save and update shadows in real-time
  • Flight Pattern Awareness: Visual layout helps identify potential colony collision zones
  • Full-Width Canvas: Responsive design uses entire screen width for detailed planning

πŸ’‘ Use Cases​

New Apiary Setup Planning a new apiary location? Add trees and buildings as obstacles, then position hives to maximize morning sun exposure while avoiding afternoon heat and ensuring proper entrance orientation.

Optimize Existing Layout Already have hives but experiencing issues? Use the planner to simulate better arrangements considering shadow patterns at different times of day before physically moving heavy hives.

Expansion Planning Adding new hives to existing apiary? Visualize how new hives will interact with existing ones, ensuring flight paths don't cross and all hives get adequate sun exposure.

Seasonal Adjustments Plan seasonal hive repositioning by simulating sun angles and shadow coverage, helping you decide which hives need more shade in summer or more sun in spring.

πŸŽ“ How to Use​

  1. Navigate to Apiary - Go to your apiary edit page
  2. Open Hive Placement tab - Click "Hive Placement" in the tab menu
  3. Add Obstacles - Click "Add Tree" or "Add Building" then click canvas to place
  4. Position Hives - Drag hives to optimal locations
  5. Adjust Entrances - Click hive, then drag blue rotation handle or use buttons
  6. Simulate Sun - Move sun slider or enable auto-rotate to see shadow changes
  7. Refine Layout - Resize/rotate obstacles by dragging their handles

🎨 Visual Elements​

Hive Colors:

  • Yellow - Unselected hive
  • Green - Selected hive (shows rotation handle)
  • Blue Arrow - Entrance direction indicator

Obstacle Handles:

  • Blue Handle - Drag to resize (all obstacles)
  • Orange Handle - Drag to rotate (buildings only)
  • Gray Body - Drag to move obstacle

Sun Position:

  • β˜€οΈ Emoji - Rotates around compass (top-right)
  • 90Β° (E) - Morning sun, shadows point West
  • 180Β° (S) - Midday sun, shadows point North
  • 270Β° (W) - Evening sun, shadows point East

⚠️ Placement Best Practices​

Hive Entrance Orientation:

  • βœ… Best: Southeast or South (morning sun, afternoon shade)
  • ⚠️ Acceptable: East or Southwest
  • ❌ Avoid: North (cold, damp), West (overheating)
  • ❌ Never: Facing walls or other hives directly

Hive Spacing:

  • Minimum 3 feet apart (prevent drift)
  • Stagger rows to avoid straight flight lines
  • Consider wheelbarrow access between hives

Shadow Management:

  • Morning sun is beneficial (activates foragers early)
  • Afternoon shade helps in hot climates
  • Avoid all-day shade (hives stay too cold)

Wind Protection:

  • Use buildings/trees as windbreaks
  • Don't block entrance airflow
  • Leave evacuation routes for smoke

✨ Tips & Tricks​

πŸ’‘ Test Different Times: Use the sun slider to check morning, noon, and evening shadows before finalizing placement

πŸ’‘ Rotate in Small Steps: Use rotation buttons for precise 15Β° adjustments when fine-tuning entrance direction

πŸ’‘ Plan for Growth: Leave space between hives for adding supers during honey flow

πŸ’‘ Mark Problem Areas: Place obstacles where you DON'T want hives (permanent structures, wet spots, slopes)

πŸ’‘ Save Multiple Layouts: Take screenshots of different configurations to compare offline

πŸ”„ Auto-Save​

All changes (hive positions, rotations, obstacles) save automatically when you release the mouse. Reload the page anytime to continue planning exactly where you left off.

πŸ“± Coming Soon​

  • Touch gesture support for mobile/tablet
  • Distance measurement tools
  • Flight path visualization
  • Export to printable PDF
  • Import obstacles from satellite imagery