Machine learning and related types of Artificial Intelligence() are used to work to help solve various problems but it still seems surprising that it could be used to help stop the alarming decline in bee populations across the globe.
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The Varroa mite Wikipedia describes the Varrao mite as follows: ” The Varroa mite can only reproduce in a honey bee colony. It attaches to the body of the bee and weakens the bee by sucking fat bodies [1]. In this process, RNA viruses such as the deformed wing virus (DWV) spread to bees. A significant mite infestation will lead to the death of a honey bee colony, usually in the late autumn through early spring. The Varroa mite is the parasite with the most pronounced economic impact on the beekeeping industry. Varroa is considered to be one of multiple stress factors[2] contributing to the higher levels of bee losses around the world.”
A recent article claims that the mite rarely kills a bee outright but weakens the bee by sucking blood and weakening it making it susceptible to diseases and causes young to be born weak and deformed. In time this can lead to colony collapse. One problem is that you may not even see the mites as they are only a millimeter or so across. An infestation may not be discovered for some time. As shown on the appended video beekeepers put a flat surface beneath the hive and pull it out to inspect it to find tiny bodies of the mites. It is painstaking and time-consuming work. How can help Machine learning models are good at sorting through data that is “noisy” such as the flat surface with the varroa mites on it but covered in all sorts of other debris. The machine can be taught to identify the shape of the mites, and count them.
Apizoom Students in Switzerland at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale at Lausanne(EPFL) have created an
This kind of systematic data collection would be a major help for coordinating response to infestations at a national level. No doubt ApiZoom could be used globally not just in Switzerland. Apizoom is being spun off as a separate company by Bugnon. There are many ways of dealing with an infestation as described in the Wikipedia article on the virus. Some bee types are resistant to the mite and perhaps more of those bees will be used to produce honey. However, the Apizoom app will no doubt help out to control the mite.[…]
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