The use of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to investigate aspects of honey bee drone congregation areas (DCAs)

Abstract

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are a relatively new method of acquiring scientific data in a variety of applications and although their use has expanded greatly in recent years there has been no evaluation of the use of UAVs in the investigation of honey bee drone congregation areas (DCAs). This scientific note describes the advantages of using a UAV for locating DCAs and investigating DCA boundaries in difficult terrain and adverse wind conditions. A Phantom Vision 2 Unmanned Arial Vehicle video camera drone fitted with an artificial queen bee was used to examine DCAs in a mountainous, bush clad area in the Wellington area of New Zealand. The UAV was able to investigate areas not easily accessible on foot and impassable for vehicles, and was able to investigate areas upwind of the operator. Results suggest that the directionality of a UAV is useful in investigating DCAs and helping to determine their boundaries in areas of difficult terrain in the Wellington area of New Zealand.