Collaborations
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By: Dr. Tracy Farone
AI (Artificial Intelligence) technologies are a major topic of conversation these days. “Are you an AI optimist or pessimist?” is a question now commonly posed. Like most technologies, AI can be used as a tool to aid human assessment. This type of AI use in beekeeping is evolving and will provide opportunities for research within apiculture. While I firmly believe nothing will replace an experienced beekeeper, any tool making beekeeping easier would be welcome in my book. This season my students and I were fortunate enough to be included in the Apisense Global Field Research Program, a worldwide field research initiative focused on understanding honey bee colony health in real apiary conditions. Apisense is working with beekeepers, scientists and research partners around the world to study how colonies communicate through biological signals and how these signals may help support earlier disease detection and better colony health management.
Apisense Global Field Research Program
Apisense is a Polish technology company developing an intelligent hive health system that translates the language of bees into clear, actionable data. The system uses AI to analyse pheromone-associated volatile organic compounds (VOCs), other hive gases, bee sounds and environmental context to detect honey bee diseases and provide recommendations on what to do next. The Apisense Global Field Research Program is the world’s largest field research program in beekeeping, involving approximately 3,000 monitored hives and 400 apiaries across 6 continents.
When I heard of the opportunity to collaborate with the Apisense team, I jumped at the opportunity to be a prototype yard for their field trials. I knew it would be a great opportunity for my students to learn about research and collaborative science. The company graciously provided all materials free of charge with an agreement that we follow certain protocols and conduct specific disease testing diagnostics for Varroa and Nosema within our apiary.
The equipment provided included in-hive Vital Sensors for each monitored colony, Apisense Colony Links with NFC technology for the participating hives, Apisense Scale to place under one hive in the study, and a solar-powered Apisense Hub to be installed within the apiary area. We were able to choose how many hives we would like to commit to the study. Each sensor was intended to be installed in a hive’s brood box. These Vital Sensors pick up various pheromone-related chemical signals that may indicate disease presence within a hive (Figure 1). Colony Links are NFC and QR tags mounted on the hives. By tapping a phone to the tag or scanning the code, we open the data for that specific hive. The single scale placed under one hive was intended to measure general seasonal changes, like honey flow, Winter stores running low, robbing activity and conditions in the apiary like outside temperature (Figure 2). The Hub is the communication center of your apiary. It gathers data from all your sensors and sends it to the cloud automatically 24/7.
The sensors, Colony Links and scale were also connected to the Apisense app. The app allowed us to enter information about each monitored colony, record observations, upload photos, add diagnostic testing results and follow the history of each hive in one place, as well as receiving general information about the interior and exterior conditions of the monitored hives over time and in real time. The app also includes Meli, the Apisense AI Assistant that knows our bees. Meli is a personal beekeeping advisor who combines expert knowledge with the history of our hives. She gives specific answers tailored to our apiary and colonies. When something may be wrong, she helps explain what is happening and what to do next, step by step.
The purpose of Apisense is to help beekeepers and researchers understand what is happening inside the hive without opening it, even in Winter or between inspections. By detecting honey bee diseases long before they become visible and providing practical recommendations, the system can help reduce unnecessary hive inspections and support faster, better-informed decisions.
Some of the parameters measured included local weather conditions, outside/inside hive temperature, humidity and pressure, weight of the scaled hive, and colony health state as determined by the sensor. When sensors were placed within a hive, bee samples were taken for a sugar roll Varroa test, and a 25-bee sample crush for Nosema spore testing (Figure 3). At least two more Varroa and Nosema diagnostic tests will be performed throughout the beekeeping season. All tests and observations were recorded by taking pictures and uploading the information to the app.
Student Research Opportunities
While it is exciting to be included in a global study, I am most excited about the opportunities this prototype study provides for my students to learn how research works…the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Science is not about knowing it all. We are all students in science. Science is more about admitting that we do not know something but strive to objectively find out, with the purpose of understanding the workings of our world in a better and beneficial way. As a matter of fact, classical scientific inquiry is based on the null hypothesis. The null hypothesis is an approach that starts off with the assumption that a causation relationship between observed variables is not statistically significant. In other words, to reduce bias as much as possible, we use the scientific method to try to prove ourselves “wrong” and not prove ourselves “right”. Unfortunately, there are examples of those at even the highest levels of “science” that have forgotten this fundamental approach.
I warn my students to read studies carefully looking at the methods, statistical power (size) of the study, and study type (for example, meta-reviews are at the highest level in the hierarchy of evidence, while survey studies are a weak form of evidence).
The Apisense Global Field Research Program is so refreshing and helpful for student learners because the point of the study is to find pit falls, work on communication issues, and refine working together with a group globally. It is real, honest, “get your hands dirty” work, with goals for the greater good. Valuable skills my students are learning include:
-Keeping good records, research logs and notes
-Data collection and management
-Utilizing technology and incorporating new technology
-Combining field work with bench work and computerized systems
-Creating global research networks
-Working with citizen, industry and academic research combinations
-Learning about common honey bee diseases and their impact on bees
-Presenting and sharing their work within the scientific community
While the AI revolution can be unsettling, utilization of new technology tools within the fundamental framework of scientific inquiry can be part of finding healthy management solutions within our beekeeping future.
Contributing Author: Katarzyna Drecka-Chrzanowska, Apisense
