Absolutely buzzing: how biotracking is saving our pollinators

This monitoring provides essential data that could help protect the future of plant pollination and biodiversity.

According to the team, a group of experts across various fields, including engineering, entomology, robotics, and drone piloting, 85% of plant species are dependent on insect pollination but 40% of insect species are facing extinction.

This is where biotracking could play a vital part in mitigating the impacts of insect decline.

Pollinators and the threat of decline

According to team leader, Dr Tonya Lander, without pollination many plants would produce fewer or no seeds, leading to a reduction in fruit and a loss of plant species for future generations.

Insects, particularly bees, are vital to the pollination process, but as their populations decline, their loss could impact not only global food supplies but also the reproduction of the plants that many other species depend on.

Therefore, monitoring insect populations to understand the scale of the problem and take action to protect these species is of the utmost importance.

To do this, biotracking technology is designed to provide a way to track insect movements across large landscapes. This system can monitor local insect behaviour, nest locations, and even swarm migration patterns in order to expand our understanding of how insects interact with their environment. By understanding this behaviour, biotracking could help conservation efforts and ensure that future generations of plants and animals are not lost.

Tracking challenges

Tracking insects, especially ones like bees, has been a challenge for engineers and researchers for many years, according to engineer Chris Stevens. The difficulty lies in the small size of the insects and the limits of traditional tracking systems, such as radar, which can only detect objects within a few metres. To circumnavigate this challenge, the biotracking technology system uses a combination of radar and optical tracking. The radar system involves attaching a small circuit to the insect, which converts radar signals to a higher frequency. These signals are then picked up by a sensitive receiver that illuminates the insect, allowing researchers to track its movements. The ability to extend the tracking range from a few metres to an entire field has opened new avenues for biological research, and its potential to reveal unknown aspects of insect behaviour is an exciting prospect for the future of large scale conservation and environmental efforts.

There is also an optical system which uses a camera that only detects wavelengths at 940nm, paired with LEDs emitting the same wavelength. This allows the camera to track bees fitted with a reflective tag, even in large outdoor environments.

The tags used in this system are the smallest and lightest harmonic radar chips ever created, and these miniature chips allow insects to carry the tags without any disruption to their natural behaviour. This breakthrough in size and weight is vital to ensuring that the insects are tracked without interference, providing accurate data on their movements.

Testing success

Currently, the system has been successfully tested in outdoor environments, with all components – transmitter, receiver, drone, camera, and tags – working in unison to track bees.

The researchers are now at a transition point where the technology will be moved into the public arena, allowing other scientists and organisations to explore its full potential.

Through biotracking, the data the team collects could lead to a better understanding of insect population decline, help pinpoint the reasons behind changes in pollination patterns, and inform conservation strategies.

Biotracking offers researchers a way to study and understand ecosystems on a much larger scale and helps to ensure the survival of both pollinators and the plants they sustain.