Attach tiny sensors to honey bees

Thousands of honey bees in Australia will be scanned by scientists to track movement and prevent disease.

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According to Reuters, the small sensors weigh about 5 milligrams and are about 2.5mm ² in size ^and will be plastered to bees after they sleep by cooling. Small bees will be shaved off the fluff before pasting the sensor.

Radio frequency identification sensors work like electronic security control cards for cars. When mounted on bees, the sensor will record the path of the insect, thereby helping scientists set up a three-dimensional image of the bee's activity.

Tiny sensors attached to honey bees will contribute to limiting the status of bees disappearing from the nests and preventing the effect of parasites.(Photo: CSIRO)

The team of experts from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) and the Australian National Science Agency said that when attaching sensors to bees, researchers and farmers will be limited. be mysteriously disappearing of bees and control the effect of parasites such as varroa mite on them. This is considered the cause of a significant reduction in the number of bees in recent years.

Bees are important species in pollination and contribute to the productivity of many crops. This study is therefore expected to help farmers protect their crop gardens.

As expected, tiny sensors will be attached to about 5,000 bees in Tasmania next summer. Scientists are making sensors about 1mm ² in size to be able to attach to smaller insects like mosquitoes.