“If the bee disappeared off the face of the Earth, man would only have four years left to live. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” There is no easy way to take the sting out of Albert Einstein’s words.
Is this really the case? With our advancements in technology, why don’t we simply replace bees with immortalized robotic ones? That’s exactly what scientists did this past September at Delft University of Technology.
The DelFly Nimble, an agile insect-inspired robot from TU Delft by MatejTU. Image from Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 4.0
Through the Delfly project, Karásek et. al created a free-flying robot, the DelFly Nimble, able to mimic the flight maneuvers of flies. This robotic model has a wingspan of 33 cm and weighs 28.2 g, which is 55 times bigger than a fruit fly. Reaching speeds up to 15 mph, the robot can fly a distance of 1 km in 5 minutes on a single battery charge.
Over the past decade, the decline of bees has been a major concern (Graph 1). For every action, there is a consequence. Farming advances, including pesticides and industrial agriculture, have negatively impacted bees. A 2015 UN report stated that 37% of bee populations are declining. Why should we care about this decline? Bees are the chief pollinator of our crops. Our daily diet consists of 40% produce (Graph 2) and 35% of crops produced are dependent on pollination (Graph 3). More importantly, essential crops, that are the primary source of vital nutrients and vitamins, are found within this category.
Graph 1. Number of US Domesticated Honeybee Colonies. Image created by Teresa Howard, the author.
Graph 2. Global Daily Food Consumption per Person in 2011. Image created by Teresa Howard, the author.
Graph 3. Crop Pollination Dependence. Image created by Teresa Howard, the author.
So what could solve this pressing problem? Matěj Karásek presents one possible solution with the DelFly Nimble. “The use we see for this is pollination in greenhouses. The bee is under threat due to our farming methods and we don’t know what their future will be. This is one solution.”
I believe it’s always good to have a Plan “Bee”, like the one Karásek suggests, to combat these problematic situations. However, we shouldn’t give up hope on the bees just yet.
Major contributors to the decline in the bee population include pesticides, industrial agriculture, parasites/pathogens, and climate change. To save the 20,000 species of bees, we can all help in little ways by planting bee-friendly flowers and avoid using pesticides.
Youtube: TED Talk about why bees are disappearing
Now, this is all dandy, but will you actually make an effort? Each one of us needs to make a resolution to combat this decline and not rely on someone else. Some simple solutions, like the ones Dr. Spivak stated in her Ted Talk, can make a big impact on the bee population if all of us chip in.
Bumble Bee on Purple Cone Flower. Attribution: http://www.ForestWander.com. Image from Wikimedia Commons. CC BY-SA 3.0
As of today, the Delfly project is still in development, making adjustments to the robot’s dimensions and battery life. Consequently, it may take awhile before the robotic bee “takes flight” as an effective pollinator. In the meantime, let’s all make an effort to bring back the bees.
-Teresa Howard
