The available information to protect pollinators,
coupled with an uptick in beekeeping’s popularity
during the COVID-19 pandemic, has created a
overwhelming state of awareness, White said.
“People are more aware of what is happening and
are being more of a smart consumer in terms of
not even just their own products, but what they
want to do themselves or for their own growth in
their own environment,” he said.
And it’s a time for action, to protect and
encourage native plant growth that pollinators
depend on and combat habitat loss. To that end,
some beekeepers may even turn to agtech, or the
agricultural technology sector, for solutions.
Beewise, an agtech startup, has created what
it calls the first fully autonomous beehive. The
device allows beekeepers to remotely treat their
hives and care for the bees, the company’s website
says. But experts are skeptical of the technology
and its ability to act as a self-contained,
autonomous guardian.
“It’s just important to keep the human element,”
Schmaeling said. “I guess that’s the thing is that
if we want to move things (in that direction),
you know ... technology is what’s creating
climate change, but we’re not going to create
hardworking women and men who are hands on
with these bees if they have something like that to
go into the hives or do the farming for you.”
He likened the thought of an AI-type beehive to
why beekeepers have to work together to bolster
the honeybee populations, the same way the bees
work together in the hive.
“You know, the queen bee doesn’t make the
decisions alone,” he said. “The bees make
decisions as a group and as a whole. Their colony