ApisProtect to Double Global Bee Monitoring
11th September 2019
ApisProtect will preview their innovative sensor technology at the 46th Apimondia in Montreal currently under way.
Dr Fiona Edwards Murphy, CEO of ApisProtect, an Irish Agtech innovator using intelligent sensor technology to monitor honey bee colonies, highlights the importance of beekeepers working together to protect honey bees “In some countries, up to 40 percent of our honey bees are dying every year. A host of problems, diseases, and pests are devastating hive populations around the globe. It’s becoming harder and harder every year for beekeepers to manage the variety of problems their bees are experiencing. We are delighted to share with beekeepers at Apimondia that we are doubling our global bee monitoring and will now be monitoring the health of 20 million honey bees worldwide.”
The 46th Apimondia brings together more than 6,000 participants from 80 countries at the Palais des congrès de Montréal, Montreal. Dr Fiona Edwards Murphy will be the only conference speaker from Ireland to present at this global event.
Contributing €153 billion worth of pollination to the agri-food industry annually, honey bees play an essential role in global food production. One third of all food that we eat depends on pollinators, and there are 91 million managed beehives worldwide. Canada alone has over 8,400 beekeepers and approx. 672,000 colonies. These colonies pollinate many crops and are responsible for pollinating 75% of the world’s blueberries.
Unfortunately, many countries are experiencing extensive honey bee losses. In the U.S., commercial beekeepers reported declines of 40.7 percent in 2017-2018 according to the Bee Informed Partnership, a nonprofit group associated with the University of Maryland.
ApisProtect is currently monitoring the health of ten million honey bees across 100,000 acres in Europe, North America, and South Africa and will double this global monitoring to 20 million honey bees this month. With this new technology beekeepers will no longer need to rely solely on periodic, manual hive checks that can allow disease, pests and other issues to deteriorate hive health beyond rescue.
Dr Edwards Murphy adds “Our mission at ApisProtect, is to save the honey bees, because if we don’t take action now, we’ll lose our most important insect ally. We want to secure the supply of one third of our diet, and make sure we can nourish and feed the 9.7 billion people on planet earth by 2050. We are delighted to preview our technology here in Montreal in preparation for our global commercial launch in 2020.”
ApisProtect brings the power of advanced sensors and machine learning technology into the hive to deliver a 24/7 early warning system so beekeepers can give at-risk hives immediate attention and improve bee health.
Combining the sensor data on hive conditions, health and activity levels with its proprietary big data and machine learning techniques, ApisProtect gives beekeepers actionable insights and alerts to help prevent losses and increase colony productivity.
Dr Edwards Murphy added “We hope that with our technology we will be able to reduce honey bee losses and improve the health of honey bee colonies worldwide. We can all help by planting more pollinator-friendly plants in our field margins, roadsides, gardens, communities and cities. ApisProtect is looking forward to exchanging experiences and ideas with beekeepers from all over the globe in the week-long event that is Apimondia”.
Dr. Edwards Murphy is a panel participant at this year’s WMB Conference on September 30th in Dublin’s Shelbourne Hotel. For more information visit here>>
