AI robotic beehives installed in Florida community claim 70% reduction in colony collapse threatening crops
A Florida community has deployed AI-powered robotic beehives as declining bee populations continue raising concerns about the future of the US food supply, according to FOX 13 Tampa Bay.
The Angeline development in Land O’ Lakes recently became the first master-planned community to install Beewise’s automated BeeHome system, which uses robotics, sensors and artificial intelligence to monitor hive health and protect colonies from environmental threats.
The technology arrives as bee populations across the United States continue facing pressure from parasites, pesticides, disease and extreme weather conditions that experts say threaten agriculture nationwide.
“Bees pollinate roughly 75% of the crops we eat and about 80% of flowering plants around the word,” Beewise Managing Director Steve Peck said. “So, without those bees, our food supply is in jeopardy.”
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The community relies on bees to pollinate a 2.5-acre farm that helps supply produce used throughout the development.
The BeeHome system uses internal cameras, sensors and robotic components to inspect hives and identify problems that traditionally require manual beekeeper oversight.
“The robotics know where it is in the frame or where it is in the hive at any point,” Peck said. “It can pick it up just like a beekeeper would, inspect it, and report that back to technicians around the world.”
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The automated system monitors queen health, egg production and infestations from varroa mites, one of the leading causes of colony collapse among honeybee populations.
Peck said the technology can also respond automatically when hive threats are detected.
“We can treat them within the hive by moving them to a new part of the home that raises the temperature,” Peck said. “It’s enough to kill the mites, but not the bees. And there, we can prevent that colony collapse, and have shown, basically a 70% reduction to what we’re seeing naturally around the world.”
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The technology is already operating across hundreds of thousands of acres of agricultural land nationwide.
Project officials emphasized that the system is designed to support — not replace — traditional beekeeping practices as environmental pressures continue threatening bee colonies.
“Every day, bees run the risk of being destroyed due to just the weather and elements and pesticides,” Lisa Gibbings with Metro Development Group said.
Concern over declining bee populations has drawn increasing national attention in recent years, including expanded beekeeping efforts at the White House. Fox News Digital previously reported that first lady Melania Trump added new bee colonies to the White House grounds as part of an expanded pollinator and honey production program.
Bee populations have become a growing concern for farmers and agricultural experts in recent years because pollinators play a critical role in food production and ecosystem stability across the U.S.
المصدر: Fox News — Science
