How smart tech could help save the worlds honey bees

You might think of beekeepers as mere honey producers, but they are part of a growing trade where they lease their hives to farmers who need bees to pollinate their crops. The commercial bee industry provides pollination services worth tens of billions of dollars, and is key to the production of a huge range of crops, including almonds, broccoli and apples. California, for example, produces 80% of the worlds almonds, and for that to happen, pollen needs to be transferred between trees. Each year, more than 2 million bee hives are required to do the job. in 2019, according to research from the University of Maryland. Climate change, intensive agriculture, and the use of pesticides and fungicides in farming is ravaging the worlds bees. Commercial beekeepers in the United States lost 44% of their managed coloniesNow, technology startups are developing smart devices that give beekeepers access to detailed information about the state of their hives, aiming to reduce losses and improve bee health. Among them is Irelands ApisProtect, which has just launched a sensor that alerts beekeepers if there is a problem in their hives. The small internet-connected sensor is placed under the roof of the beehive and measures a number of metrics including temperature, humidity, sound and movement. Data from the sensor is sent via the cloud to ApisProtects HQ in Cork, Ireland, where the data is processed, analyzed and then sent back to the beekeeper. "Using our device, beekeepers are going to be able to keep many, many more hives for the same amount of workers, and the same amount of spend on things like feed and treatments," says the companys founder and CEO, Fiona Edwards Murphy. "Theyre going to be able to dramatically increase the amount of pollination and honey output that theyve got in their operation. "Since receiving $1. 8 million in funding from international investors in 2018, the company has been working with 20 beekeepers across the United States,