RFID Technology Serving Honey Bee Research: A Comprehensive Description of a 32-Antenna System to Study Honey Bee and Queen Behavior

Mohamed Alburaki,Miguel Corona,Shayne Madella

doi:10.3390/asi4040088

Abstract

The fields of electronics and information technology have witnessed rapid development during the last decades, providing significant technical support to the field of biological sciences. Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) technology has been used to automate the monitoring of animal location and behaviors in a wide range of vertebrate and invertebrate species, including social insects such as ants and honey bees (Apis mellifera L.). This technology relies on electromagnetic fields to identify and track transponders attached to objects automatically. Implementing new technologies to serve research purposes could be time consuming and require technical expertise from entomologists and researchers. Herein, we present a detailed description on how to harness RFID technology to serve honey bee research effectively. We describe how to build and operate a 32-antenna RFID system used to monitor various honey bee behaviors such as foraging, robbing, and queen and drone mating, which can be used in other social insects as well. Preliminary data related to queen nuptial flights were obtained using this unit and presented in this study. Virgin queens labeled with ≈5 mg transponders performed multiple (one to four) nuptial/orientation flights a day (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) ranging from 8 to 145 s each. Contrary to virgin queens, no hive exit was recorded for mated queens. At full capacity, this unit can monitor up to 32 honey bee colonies concurrently and is self-sustained by a solar panel to work in remote areas. All materials, hardware, and software needed to build and operate this unit are detailed in this study, offering researchers and beekeepers a practical solution and a comprehensive source of information enabling the implementation of RFID technology in their research perspective.

Highlights

The recent and remarkable advance in technology, in artificial intelligence and information technology, has provided entomologists and scientists with powerful tools to conduct close and more surgical monitoring of insect behavior or other organisms [1,2,3].The ability to acquire continuous and accurate data related to a given organism provides a better understanding of this organism in its ecosystem
We provide a comprehensive description of how to build and operate an Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) 32-antenna system to study honey bee behavior in the field and monitor queen nuptial flight
The unit described in this study is composed of (1) the RFID electronic hardware, including the reader, antenna hubs, adapter kit, and wiring, as well as a laptop, to continuously collect the data, (2) antenna cables that transmit the transponders’ signals from the hive entrance to the antenna hubs and subsequently to the reader itself, (3) a generator that is the primary power source for the whole unit is needed when this unit operates in remote areas with no electric power available close to the apiary or the experimental site and

Summary

Introduction

The recent and remarkable advance in technology, in artificial intelligence and information technology, has provided entomologists and scientists with powerful tools to conduct close and more surgical monitoring of insect behavior or other organisms [1,2,3].The ability to acquire continuous and accurate data related to a given organism provides a better understanding of this organism in its ecosystem. The field of honey bee research has benefited and utilized many sophisticated electronic devices and sensors, offering a closer and more sustainable monitoring of honey bee biological traits and behavior [4,5]. Some of these sensors were used to obtain continuous and accurate data of the hive’s inner temperature and humidity throughout the season [6,7], while others were highly sensitive electronic scales used to assess the daily weight fluctuation of honey bee colonies [8]. This technology consists of tracking a transponder fix on an insect, which can be exited and located by a stationary horizontally scanning radar system [14]

Methods

Results

Conclusion