Researchers in Western University’s Department of Applied Mathematics have found a red flag beekeepers may be able to use to more accurately determine the health of their hives: the age at which forager bees are first sent out to gather food. Published recently in peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE, a new study by PhD candidate Matthew Betti suggests that honeybee colonies threatened by pesticides, disease, parasites or other external forces tend to panic and release foragers from the hive earlier than usual. Responsible for gathering enough food for the hive to prosper, if the young bees fail to survive, the colony, already facing a serious threat, can deteriorate even more quickly. Under normal conditions, Betti found forager bees leave the hive around 14-days-old, but that number is smaller under adverse conditions. “It’s like sending a teenager out into the world,” he said. “The human may survive but a nine-day old bee is not likely to make it.”
Betti’s research and applied mathematics in general can offer an interesting perspective to the ongoing conversations about the plight of pollinators across the globe.
Source: The Londoner, 30 April 2015
http://www.thelondoner.ca/2015/04/30/how-math-can-help-us-understand-be…
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