A group of ecologists plan to track bumblebees by outfitting a number of them with microchip backpacks.
According to BBC News, the team designed the trackers easily accessible technology and their range is up to about 2.5 meters, whereas it used to be just one centimeter. What goes on the bee is a radio frequency identification (RFID), but the trick was making the device smaller and lighter in order to effectively track the insect.
"The first stage was to make very raw pre-production tags using components I could easily buy," Mark O'Neil, technical director at the Tumbling Dice tech firm and the device's creator, told BBC News. "I want to make optimized aerial components which would be a lot smaller.
"I've made about 50 so far. I've soldered them all on my desk - it feels like surgery."
The team chose worker bees for their study since they tend to not get into trouble, they do not mate and their most common cause of death is old age. The scientists attach the chips to the bees by chilling them to make the installation easier. Then they plant the device on the bees' bodies using superglue, BBC News reported.
"These tags are a big step forward in radio technology and no one has a decent medium to long range tag yet that is suitable for flying on small insects," Sarah Barlow, a restoration ecologist from London's Kew Gardens, told BBC News. "This new technology will open up possibilities for scientists to track bees in the landscape.
"This piece of the puzzle, of bee behavior, is absolutely vital if we are to understand better why our bees are struggling and how we can reverse their decline."
