GIHH-bee-backpack-animation

[Music plays, CSIRO logo appears on screen with text:  Global Initiative for Honey bee Health.  An animated honey bee lands on the CSIRO logo]

Narrator:  Bees play an important role in ecosystems and agriculture the world over. 

[Image changes to show the CSIRO logo change into a flower.  The animated honey bee flies past fruit trees and flowers]

One third of the food we eat relies on pollination by bees, including fruit, vegetables, oils, seeds and nuts.  They are the workhorse of crop pollination, yet globally the health of bees is under increasing pressure from a number of stress factors. 

[Image changes to show the animated honey bee going into a beehive, and a map of the world appears above the beehives]

And this is leading to reduced hive numbers in some locations, by up to 90%. 

[Image changes to show animated honey bees crawling over honeycomb]

To understand honey bee behaviour and the various pressures they face the CSIRO has developed microsensing technology which allows scientists to monitor the behaviour of individual bees using RFID tags. 

[Image changes to show a tag being attached to the back of an animated honey bee and text appears on screen:  Hive location; Bee species; ID Number; Date tagged]

[Image changes to show animated honey bees flying in and out of a beehive] 

Electronic readers attached to hives record the behaviour of bees.

[Image changes to show an electronic reader inside a beehive] 

The data is sent to a mini computer which processes it and uploads it to the Cloud for analysis by scientists located anywhere in the world.

[Image changes to show an animated honey bee flying over a field of flowers] 

Scientists can see the duration of bee missions, whether they are foraging for nectar, pollen or water, the effect of weather, and how long bees rest between missions.

[Image changes to show storm clouds appearing in the sky] 

[Image changes to show animated honey bees flying into a beehive]

[Image changes to show an animated honey bee leaving a beehive and entering another beehive] 

Microsensor data has revealed bees visiting hives near their home colony, with different amounts of mingling between bee populations.

[Image changes to show animated honey bees with tags attached to their backs crawling over honeycomb] 

All of this data is providing insight into the lives of bees and their colonies.

[Image changes to show beehives, and a map of the world appears above the beehives] 

Based on this success the CSIRO is partnering with scientists around the world in launching the Global Initiative for Honey Bee Health.  Seeking to protect and improve the health of honey bees the Initiative will provide access to microsensing kits globally, then co-ordinate efforts of scientists and industry to gather and share a wealth of complex data.

[Image changes to show microsensing kits appearing above the beehives.  Graphs then appear above the beehives] 

The CSIRO will also provide support using its expertise in biosecurity, bee pathology and landscape ecology.  Find out more by contacting the CSIRO.

[Image changes to show the CSIRO logo appear on screen with text: www.csiro.au.  An animated honey bee flies across the screen]