Honeybees pollinate a third of what people eat and drink, from coffee to almonds, but colonies are on the decline because of extreme weather, pesticides and parasites.
Honeybees pollinate a third of what people eat and drink, from coffee to almonds, but colonies are on the decline because of extreme weather, pesticides and parasites.
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University's School of Computer Science (SCS) and the University of California, Riverside (UC Riverside) have created a system to help beekeepers monitor and analyze the health of their beehives and take corrective actions to prevent colony collapse — when a majority of the worker bees abandon the colony and its queen.
Beehives use thermoregulation to ensure the hive temperature stays between 33 and 36 degrees Celsius, about 91 to 97 degrees Fahrenheit. For example, bees might cluster to create insulation when it's cold or fan their wings when it's hot. But when beehives experience external stressors, such as pesticides or unexpected weather events, they lose the ability to regulate the hive temperature. That's when beekeepers need to intervene to save the hive. Currently, beekeepers manage hive health using their judgment and experience to address problems, which can lead to oversights.
The Electronic Bee-Veterinarian (EBV) uses low-cost heat sensors and predictive forecasting to assist beekeepers in managing hive temperature and overall honeybee health. Researchers used two sensors, one placed on the outside of the hive and one inside, to detect real-time temperatures in the bee colonies. This data was then fed into a model that calculates the hive health factor.
Read more at Carnegie Mellon University
Image: A low-cost heat sensor on a beehive frame. (Credit: University of California, Riverside)
