Bees are relevant to everyone in the community: they pollinate flowers that grow into fruits, vegetables, cotton, and other materials that we eat or use everyday. But bees are on the endangered species list! This means that the bees are unable to pollinate the same number of flowers, which indicates a downturn in agricultural production.
During the course of the semester, the JMU Bee Team will focus on the gathering data about bees while investigating whether or not they create their own microclimates. These microclimates could provide a breeding ground for unintentionally introduced fungi, which may cause damage to the colonies. We see that an existing fungal infection, known as “Chalkbrood”, does considerable damage to a hive by coating larva in its mycelium and then draining them of life, leaving white chalky remains. Could the humidity in the microclimate produced by the bees unwittingly facilitate its growth? Could other fungi make devastating use of varying microclimates? By using drones and sensors, we will seek an answer to these questions by collecting data from, in, and around beehives and other adjacent environments to determine the presence of a microclimate, mainly through changes in wind velocity, temperature, and humidity. If bees create their own microclimates, then our research may give us the potential to detect the spread of diseases within the colonies before its effects become catastrophic. Although we will collect data around the greater Harrisonburg area, our findings will influence people–and bees—on a global scale.
About the JMU Bee Team
Two techies, a writer, and a biologist came together to create the JMU Bee Team from James Madison University. From the technical side, we have Alec Barney and Kyle Britton who will make sure our drone collects the proper data and will find the significance of that data. Stephanie, the writer, and Xavier, the psychologist, will focus on taking pictures, creating blog posts from the accumulated research, and working with the techies to communicate the purpose and specifications of our particular drone. Find out more about us and our project at http://sites.jmu.edu/vadrones/wind/. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at dronessavedrones@gmail.com.
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