Posted on 02/09/2017 2:21:55 PM PST by BenLurkin
Scientists in Japan say they’ve managed to turn an unassuming drone into a remote-controlled pollinator by attaching horsehairs coated with a special, sticky gel to its underbelly.
The system, described in the journal Chem, is nowhere near ready to be sent to agricultural fields, but it could help pave the way to developing automated pollination techniques at a time when bee colonies are suffering precipitous declines.
...
Scientists have thought about using drones, but scientists haven’t figured out how to make free-flying robot insects that can rely on their own power source without being attached to a wire.
“It’s very tough work,” said senior author Eijiro Miyako, a chemist at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology in Japan.
There’s a lot of work to be done before that’s a reality, however. Small drones will need to become more maneuverable and energy efficient, as well as smarter, he said — with better GPS and artificial intelligence, programmed to travel in highly effective search-and-pollinate patterns.
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
declining bees are the second biggest fraudulent headline next to global warming
I think bees already have that drone thing figured out.
This is probably a very good idea, and one of the better uses for tiny robot swarms that I’ve ever heard about.
The key would be how to handle rival bee colonies who may want to fight the Bot-Bees away from their Queen’s territory.
How do you resist the aggressive rival bees without killing them and thus compounding the problem of Colony Colapse Disorder?
Exactly. Bees are doing just fine.
No the bee population is declining. Probably due to products like round-up and GMO’s. Thanks Monsanto!
Been gardening for nearly 20 years and the last two years I have not seen a SINGLE honeybee. Not one for 2 years. Absolutely terrifying to me.
Bumblebees are still doing well but they dont like the same plants honeybees do. I’ve had to use a brush this year to manually pollinate plants that I used to not have to.
Whatever the cause, they are definitely disappearing and this will cause serious issues on large farms.
This makes me want to stab my eyes with pencils.... lying scientists have plagued me for my entire life....i want my damn flying car man...
N=1 is not indicative of anything.
I’m not saying that there might not be a problem either.
The bees here in Texas have been acting weird for a decade or more. Instead of doing what bees usually do... they have become scavengers of trash. Every open trashcan and picnic table area in the state is swarming with them.
Bees? Or wasps?
> Bees? Or wasps?
Both are in decline and both are essential to our food source.
Bees pollinate.
Wasps (and hornets and yellow jackets) perform a different task. They store yeast in their guts and later distribute it to ripe fruits and grains. Without wasps you could not brew beer, make bread, wine, etc.
Catch the episode of Black Mirror on Netflix that deals with hijacked drone bee swarms and a story like this one will give you the willies!
Every single garnder or farmer I talked to has been saying the same. From Vermont to PA
You used to have struggle to avoid being stung by all the bees. These days you can’t see a single one even when searching for them. Absolutely a dramatic and undeniable difference over the last ~5 years
Ya beat me to it. You are 100% correct.
Then N!=1. Hopefully it is just cyclical, and there will be a population rebound. I remember in a class we talked about Population Biology one day.[Ae^(-kt)] Anyhow, I remember something about a heavy decrease after a heavy increase...
How does a robot make whoopee?
Input/Output?
The declining bees are non-natives to the Americas and have always had to have their populations artificially managed.
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