The purpose of World Bee Day May 20 is to acknowledge the role of bees and other pollinators for the ecosystem.
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Ahead of World Bee Day, Monash University expert Associate Professor Alan Doran, Head of NativeBee+Tech Facility, Faculty of Information Technology highlighted the need to preserve Australia's native bee populations.
"As our climate becomes increasingly unstable, and land-clearing for urban expansion and industrial agriculture continues in Australia, we must rapidly learn all we can about our native bees," Associate Professor Dorin said.
"They are potentially at risk of extinction. New technologies from artificial intelligence (AI) and computer science can help us understand their abundance and habits.
Associate Professor Dorin said very little is known about Australia's 1600 plus native bee species, but they are certainly key pollinators of our native ecosystems and food crops.
"Learning to monitor and manage them is an important application for new technologies that can help us sustain our unique ecosystems and improve food security," he said.
"Honeybee hives are increasingly monitored remotely using new technologies.This is especially important to allow proper management under climate change and the stress of pests, pathogens and even chemical pesticides. Uniquely, we are developing monitoring technologies for Australia's native stingless bee hives. These bees are important crop and wildflower pollinators, and are not directly susceptible to Varroa mite which is spreading amongst our introduced European honeybee population.
"Remote digital insect monitoring stations allow us to identify insect species visiting crops and wildflowers. These new technologies assist us to be good custodians of Australia's biodiversity, and to monitor pests and pathogens amongst introduced species such as the European honeybee we depend on for managed crop pollination."
