The latest research investigating why honey bees are dying involves tracking the small insects, but how do you track a bee?
Bee numbers have been falling dramatically and scientists are trying to understand why. In the past 25 years honey bee numbers in England have more than halved and they are still decreasing. It is a similar story elsewhere in the UK and in other countries.
Bees of all types - there are hundreds of them - play a huge role in the life of the countryside and a third of what we eat is reliant on bee pollination. Studying the behaviour of these complex insects is crucial to finding out what is happening but it is also a big challenge.
The answer
- A tiny antenna is glued to the thorax of the insect
- A radar transmitter emits a signal
- A diode in the centre of the antenna converts it into a unique signal that researchers can track
honey bee can visit several thousand flowers in one day and navigate over several kilometres, so how do you track one?
Scientists are using harmonic radar technology. A radar transmitter emits a signal which is received by a tiny antenna glued on a honey bee's thorax (back). A small diode in the centre of the antenna converts it into a different wavelength that can be detected and followed.
The converted signal is unique. There is no other source in the environment, so scientists know it's the tagged honey bee. A portable radar tracking station is used to transmit the signal and gather the information sent back.
The system was developed by scientists at the Natural Resources Institute and is operated by scientists at Rothamsted Research, a government-funded agricultural research centre in Hertfordshire. It's currently being used in several major research projects.
Read more at:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23448846
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