Developing a methodology to detect honey bee foraging using bioacoustics analysis

Detecting bees in crop fields is critical for assessing pollination activity and for choosing appropriate time periods to apply pesticides to minimize bee exposure. There are currently several methods for detecting pollinator presence and activity, including pan traps, manual collection, and visual observation. However, there are limitations to the utility of existing methods, including the bias of pan traps against large bees and the limited duration of observation possible using manual approaches. I am developing a methodology to record the audible wingbeats of foraging honey bees (Apis mellifera) in soybean (Glycine max) fields and quantify periods of honey bee foraging by identifying the wingbeat frequency specific to honey bees, 234±13.9 Hz. I outline the technological and practical challenges of this new methodology, as well as how those challenges might be addressed and overcome by future work. Successful refinement of this methodology would provide a useful tool for measuring activity of honey bees and other flying insects in other crops or ecosystems.