Mac Park a buzz: tech trial aims to save the bees

The bees are a buzzin’ for Mac Park researchers who are developing an early warning system for bee hives at risk.

With Australia’s bee population in decline, the high tech system will remotely monitor hive temperatures and alert beekeepers when hives are in danger.

Project lead Professor Andrew Barron at Macquarie University said a robust early-warning signal will give beekeepers the opportunity to intervene before it is too late.

“Beekeepers are really good and skilful at intervening and strengthening colonies, and giving them what they need to be healthy,”

“What we've realised though is that when a honeybee colony is under a lot of stress, it can actually look like it's doing OK until it's pushed right to the edge of collapse…

“…The hope is that we'll find an easy-to-measure signal that reliably tells us when a colony is in trouble at the earliest possible point, so we can direct beekeepers’ efforts to where they'll make the greatest impact for the greatest benefit”

Bee keeping is much more than just a back yard past time in Australia - there are more than a quarter of a million bee colonies in New South Wales, most of which are used to pollinate agricultural crops.

The Australian Honey Bee Industry Council estimates the value of Australian crops that rely on or benefit from pollination by bees to be between $4 and $6 billion annually.

Bee populations were seriously impacted by the 2019-20 ‘black summer’ bushfires, reducing the numbers of hives in the state by more than a third. The ongoing impact of pesticides, our changing climate and the threat of disease are also influencing bee health.

The early warning system trial will automate much of the observation work undertaken by beekeepers manually, giving them more time to focus on other important areas like restoring the bee populations and bee health across the State.

The two-year project, which kicked off in November, will be tested on 50 hives across New South Wales.