Friday, December 21, 2007
Honey bee pathogen detector
Why is the US Department of Defense interested in the health of bee hives? The department has funded Jerry Bromenshenk, a bee expert at the University of Montana in Missoula to develop an acoustic device for listening to the sounds honey bees make when in the hive.
Bromenshank says that these sounds are an important indicator of hive health: for example, colonies infested with parasites often produce a roaring sound. But honeybees also produce specific changes in sound when small amounts of toxicants are present in the air. He and his team believe that an acoustic detector can be used as an early warning sign to detect airborne pathogens in the wide areas that bees cover when when foraging. And that explains the Department of Defense's interest.
Read the full honey bee pathogen detector patent application