Credit: CSIRO

Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) has teamed up with Intel to try to figure out what is causing the mass death of bees in recent years. With entire bee colonies being knocked out, something is very wrong among the bees of the Earth.

Since bees are responsible for pollinating about 1/6 of all the flowering plant species in the world and approximately 400 different agricultural types of plant. We humans, and Earth itself would be very different is bees didn’t exist.

CSIRO has now teamed up with Intel to equip around 10,000 bees with small “RFID backpacks”, these are small chips that weighs about 1/4 as much as the bee and is powered by the vibrations that occur when the bee flies.

These backpacks monitor the location of the bees and can detect whether the bees behave strangely or sickly, or dies at a specific location. Where the scientist will then be able to do more research to possibly find the source.

 

_______________
CSIRO calls on researchers worldwide to join forces to save honey bees
Inquiry into the Future Development of the Australian Honey Bee Industry
______________________________