Using Artificial Intelligence to Save the Bees
What began as a curiosity about declining bee colonies, artificial intelligence is serving as a valuable data collector to monitor bee activity and provide scientists and beekeepers information to better provide for bees’ needs to encourage continued survival and reproduction. Artificial intelligence (AI) is able to survey hives 24 hours a day, capturing activity, behavior, and if bees returning to the hive are carrying pollen (that is incredible!). Using this collected data allows experts to strategically plant plants, trees, and flowers in the path of bee colonies. So, although some continue to resist AI in today’s beekeeping forum, using it gives insight that would be impossible to attain otherwise.
Using AI Bee Data to Decision Makers
One group of people that is being made aware of declining bee concerns through AI data collection are the decision makers. Hard data showing the impact of large-scale decisions on development, deforestation, and other impactful milestones creates accountability for those making future decisions that will affect bees, other pollinators, and the environment. Land development is one of the top reasons bees are struggling. It is hoped that AI can shed light on things that may have been overlooked otherwise and actually shift the mindset of those in power.
Seeing the Problem and Making Change
Often, when a person or group feels compelled to act on behalf of another, the concept can be overwhelming and become so daunting that the process never begins. Beekeepers are uniting to support AI in beekeeping to help beekeepers keep their hives healthy but also to alter the course of bee species’ survival in the world. Instead of feeling that one person can’t make enough of a difference, beekeepers encourage everyone to be aware of the decline and do their part to help mitigate the problem. One person does not have to have all the skills to make a change, but collectively, sustainable change is possible.
Artificial Intelligence Ensures Continuous Monitoring of Beehives
Although human beekeepers love their bees, they also must eat, sleep and live. Despite the grumbling, many beekeepers are seeing the benefits of using AI to monitor and make changes to the hive to keep bees in their ideal environment. AI machines can adjust temperature and add water and food sources as needed, which is monitored through data collection. AI may take some of the fun out of beekeeping for those small beekeepers who thrive in the details and a little bit of the guessing when it comes to the hives’ health. However, if hives are diseased or threatened, AI can act as a surrogate beekeeper and help bees if a beekeeper misses something or falls behind in monitoring their beehives. Isn’t it possible that AI can be a great tool for future beekeeping?
Beehive Temperature Changes
One of the most valuable things that AI can do for beekeepers is track temperatures in the beehive. A beehive’s temperature is indicative of its health. If a beehive is too hot, the bees may be in danger, and if the hive is too cold, bees may also need some assistance. AI allows beekeepers to stay alert and on top of any potential threats or harm to their beehives. Beehives will change temperature when under threat, and this is because if a hornet tries to enter the hive, one of the bee behaviors is to surround the threat and overheat it to death. When AI picks up on this temperature shift, beekeepers can be alerted and ensure the hive is back in the safe zone. Some think of AI as a babysitter who never takes their eyes off their charges.
So, regardless of how you feel about using Artificial Intelligence in a forum where it doesn’t fit organically, maybe it is time to reconsider. As AI continues to develop and become more pliable across hobbies and industries, finding out how it can help you is an excellent way to capitalize on the benefits it offers. AI may become a tool for honey extraction and queen bee health, which are significant in beekeeping.
If you want to speak with a local beekeeper about your apiary or have questions about bees, contact D-Tek. D-Tek is the only humane live bee removal company owned and operated by a beekeeper who is always looking out for the best way to move bees safely if they are in a dangerous spot.