Honey bees are important pollinators of agricultural crops. Pathogens and other factors have been implicated in high annual losses of honey bee colonies in North America and some European countries. To further investigate the relationship between multiple factors, including pathogen prevalence and abundance and colony health, we monitored commercially managed migratory honey bee colonies involved in California almond pollination in 2014. At each sampling event, honey bee colony health was assessed, using colony population size as a proxy for health, and the prevalence and abundance of seven honey bee pathogens was evaluated using PCR and quantitative PCR, respectively. In this sample cohort, pathogen prevalence and abundance did not correlate with colony health, but did correlate with the date of sampling. In general, pathogen prevalence (i.e., the number of specific pathogens harbored within a colony) was lower early in the year (January—March) and was greater in the summer, with peak prevalence occurring in June. Pathogen abundance in individual honey bee colonies varied throughout the year and was strongly associated with the sampling date, and was influenced by beekeeping operation, colony health, and mite infestation level. Together, data from this and other observational cohort studies that monitor individual honey bee colonies andmore »
System design for inferring colony-level pollination activity through miniature bee-mounted sensors
Abstract In digital agriculture, large-scale data acquisition and analysis can improve farm management by allowing growers to constantly monitor the state of a field. Deploying large autonomous robot teams to navigate and monitor cluttered environments, however, is difficult and costly. Here, we present methods that would allow us to leverage managed colonies of honey bees equipped with miniature flight recorders to monitor orchard pollination activity. Tracking honey bee flights can inform estimates of crop pollination, allowing growers to improve yield and resource allocation. Honey bees are adept at maneuvering complex environments and collectively pool information about nectar and pollen sources through thousands of daily flights. Additionally, colonies are present in orchards before and during bloom for many crops, as growers often rent hives to ensure successful pollination. We characterize existing Angle-Sensitive Pixels (ASPs) for use in flight recorders and calculate memory and resolution trade-offs. We further integrate ASP data into a colony foraging simulator and show how large numbers of flights refine system accuracy, using methods from robotic mapping literature. Our results indicate promising potential for such agricultural monitoring, where we leverage the superiority of social insects to sense the physical world, while providing data acquisition on par with explicitly more »
- Award ID(s):
- 1739671
- Publication Date:
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10311221
- Journal Name:
- Scientific Reports
- Volume:
- 11
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2045-2322
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Beekeeping is a cornerstone activity that has led to the human-mediated, global spread of western honey bees ( Apis mellifera L.) outside their native range of Europe, western Asia, and Africa. The exportation/importation of honey bees (i.e., transfer of honey bees or germplasm between countries) is regulated at the national level in many countries. Honey bees were first imported into the United States in the early 1600’s. Today, honey bee movement (i.e., transport of honey bees among states and territories) is regulated within the United States at the state, territory, and federal levels. At the federal level, honey bees present in the country (in any state or territory) can be moved among states and territories without federal restriction, with the exception of movement to Hawaii. In contrast, regulations at the state and territory levels vary substantially, ranging from no additional regulations beyond those stipulated at the federal level, to strict regulations for the introduction of live colonies, packaged bees, or queens. This variability can lead to inconsistencies in the application of regulations regarding the movement of honey bees among states and territories. In November 2020, we convened a technical working group (TWG), composed of academic and USDA personnel, to reviewmore »
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Publisher's Version of Record
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82537-1
