Researchers at Durham University, in collaboration with international partners, have developed a revolutionary robotic system that allows for continuous, long-term observation of honeybee colonies.
The research, published in the prestigious journal Science Robotics, marks a significant advancement in the field of digitised behavioural research.
The innovative system, developed as part of the EU-funded ‘RoboRoyale’ project, enables 24/7 monitoring of queen bees and their interactions with worker bees.
Using autonomous robots and advanced AI algorithms, the researchers have been able to analyse millions of high-resolution images, extracting valuable data on bee behaviour that was previously impossible to obtain.
The robotic system collects a wide range of data, including the queen’s movement patterns, egg-laying behaviour, population counts, breeding success, and a continuously updated map of comb contents.
This comprehensive approach allows for a deeper understanding of the social self-regulation within bee colonies.
Initial findings from the research have revealed fascinating insights into bee behaviour. The team discovered that a queen bee covers approximately 1.5 kilometres in a month within the hive, moving across two honeycombs measuring about 42×33 cm.
Even more surprisingly, they found that queen bees lay an average of 187 eggs per day, even during the waning bee season in October.
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