Scientists Glue Sensors To 5,000 Bees In a Bid To Better Understand Them 85
An anonymous reader writes "Scientists at the University of Tasmania working with CSIRO have decided to use the latest sensor technology to help them better understand the behavior of thousands of bees. An RFID sensor has been attached with glue to the back of around 5,000 honey bees in Hobart, Tasmania. In order for that to work, shaving the area of the bee where the sensor would sit was necessary in some cases. Thankfully the bee was asleep during the process, and the sensor is small and light enough that they likely won't notice it is there. With the sensors attached, checkpoints can be setup around the area where the bees travel and pollinate in order to create a three-dimensional map of their movements."
X-Bees (Score:3, Funny)
Unfortunately for the researchers one of the bees is named Fox Mulder and is about to reveal the entire operation to the colony.
Re:X-Bees (Score:4, Funny)
The truth is glued to your back will be the talk of the hive.
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Re:X-Bees (Score:4, Funny)
Sounds like a great new euphemism for cunnilingus.
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"Shaving the bee"
Is that what the kids are calling it these days?
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> one of the bees is named Fox Mulder and is about to reveal the entire operation to the colony.
The X Flies.
Humans and Aliens, not so different (Score:2, Funny)
So I've got a picture in my head of aliens doing this to us, and having this very same conversation about how we probably wouldn't notice. "Oh, hey bob... glad you're back! Gosh darn it, why'd you cut off your pony tail! and what's that thing sticking off the back of your head?"
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Ah, the good ol' days when there was so much freedom around.
Won't somebody.... (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
...think of the bees?
Meh.. I clicked the wrong setting moderating. Only way to undo it was to post! I thought AC's post was funny!
Re: (Score:2)
Uh, everybody reading this is thinking of bees! And you do know why they're tracking them, don't you?
The Understanding (Score:5, Funny)
It turns out, bees sting people.
Luckily the scientists now have enough data points to be pretty sure that is true.
Incidentally, they also prefer Aqua Velva as an aftershave, an unexpected finding as the scientists were sure they would prefer Burt's Bees.
Re:The Understanding (Score:5, Funny)
All I know is, some grad student now has the "No, my PhD is the worst" story to beat them all.
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Re:The Understanding (Score:4, Funny)
...In conclusion it was found to be statistically significant that bees indeed do not like to have sensors stuck to them.
This paper is dedicated to poor Jimmy Berton, a grad student who gave his life to further this important revelation. He will be missed.
Street View (Score:2)
in order to create a three-dimensional map of their movements
More energy efficient (and anonymous) way for Google to build maps for street view?
In other news, colony collapse disorder... (Score:3, Insightful)
In other news, colony collapse disorder... caused by glue.
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I sure hope they run the test with different types of glue. Too many variables to trust the results.
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In other news, colony collapse disorder... caused by glue.
Then we need to start a campaign to inform young bees about the dangers of sniffing glue.
o.o7 (Score:5, Insightful)
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PIGS = Poor Indian Graduate Students.
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$20,000/year comes out to $10/hour assuming 40 hour work weeks, and damn few grad students put in 8 hour days.
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Didn't realize tuition was included, thought it was an additional expense. As you can guess, I've never been to grad school.
Multiple causes (Score:1)
Free speech (Score:5, Funny)
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Hopefully it's a different sensor (Score:1, Funny)
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Florists are traitors to the human race, creating small safe havens in our cities for them to conspire against us in!
Ode to the Bee Rangler (Score:3)
How doth we study the little busy bee
Wearing sensors each shining hour,
To gather honey all the day
From every shining flower?
Burma Shave
[Apologies to Isaac Watts.]
"To the Beemobile!" (Score:4, Funny)
"You mean your Chevy?"
"...yes."
Also, beekeepers like their women the way they like their coffee. Covered in bees.
Oblig. (Score:3)
A nice tall glass of NOPE. [fbcdn.net]
If this method works... (Score:5, Funny)
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I hate to break it to you sonny but there won't ever be enough sensors for you to understand women.
Re:If this method works... (Score:4, Funny)
They're called iPhones and research is already underway.
Re:If this method works... (Score:5, Funny)
You're assuming Logic can be used to understand Emotion Yeah, good luck with that !
Men tend to focus on the goal. Get in, get out, move on.
Women tend to focus on the journey. Take their time enjoying the experience.
Why do some women love to shop for hours on end for new shoes*. Who the fuck knows -- but it must feel relaxing / good to them otherwise they wouldn't do it ...
* Replace shoes with clothes, etc. Doesn't matter.
Another way to view it:
Men want Space
Women need Time
A man needs a man-cave so he can get away** and just putz around with his hobbies.
A woman want you to spend time with them doing pointless shit like shopping for hours on end, gardening for hours, etc, or whatever her hobby is. She just wants you to spend time with her. Yes, we know you could optimize shopping via in--n-out-bam in 5 minutes. She doesn't care and thinks you're missing the point (journey). You think she's missing point (goal). Two diametrically opposed unspoken goals which usually ends up in an argument. Expectations are completely out of sync.
** Old engineer joke
An architect, an artist and an engineer were discussing whether it was better to spend time with the wife or a mistress. The architect said he enjoyed time with his wife, building a solid foundation for an enduring relationship. The artist said he enjoyed time with his mistress, because of the passion and mystery he found there.
The engineer said, "I like both."
"Both?" they asked.
Engineer: "Yeah. If you have a wife and a mistress, they will each assume you are spending time with the other woman, and you can go to the lab and get some work done."
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You failed when you thought those differences were gender based.
"Men tend to focus on the goal. Get in, get out, move on."
as do women.
"Women tend to focus on the journey."
as do men.
IT depends. revers the situation. Women has to go into a shop that supports a hobby she doesn't like? Goal. Put a man in that same shop, and it's all about looking at everything.
"Why do some women love to shop for hours on end for new shoes"
Why do some women love to shop for hours on end for new tools
"Men want Space
Women need Tim
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Oy! (Score:4, Funny)
What is it you do again son?
Well, last night I had to work late; I was shaving bees ...
Oy, my son shaving bees! What your father would say!
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We're using these new tungsten carbide bee razors...
Don't inform the NSA... (Score:1)
...they'll want to use bees for sting operations...
Oh Noes!!! (Score:1)
How long does it take? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:How long does it take? (Score:4, Funny)
No matter what, someone is going to be literally and figuratively "busy as a bee."
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That was brutal...
Bees Spend Most of their Time Grooming (Score:2)
^^^^ next headline
Surprisingly, bees spend more time scraping one another's backs and huffing than they do searching for and preserving food.
Prestige Worldwide (Score:2)
Tornado (Score:2)
Attach sensors and then launch them into Tornado like in Twister.
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Think man!
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because, small light objects can't dodge, they don't have the will to live that would make a tornado-sensing bee cluster bomb the best thing evs.
This is cool! (Score:1)
I would absolutely love to be part of that. Colony Collapse Disorder is investigated for a long time and is still not understood. What happens is that you have a healthy bee yard with many hives full of bees (50000 each hive) and you come back a week later and they are gone, except for the queens and a few workers. What happened? They did not leave voluntarily, not without the queen. There are no dead bees in front of the hive, like you would have with pesticide poisoning. There is not one virus or disease
A growing problem (Score:3)
Scientists Glue Sensors To 5,000 Bees In a Bid To Better Understand Them
See, this is why we need better documentation. I'm not sure why the scientists thought the bees would help (perhaps division of labor/hive mind or something?) but really, if the OEMs had made proper documentation for the sensors easily available, none of this would have been necessary.
What We'll Learn (Score:1)
Bees hate having sensors on their backs.
What's this? (Score:2)
A large influx of bees ought to put a stop to that! [youtube.com]
Some people are saying Bayer is killing the bees (Score:2)
So I'll just leave this link [sumofus.org] here in case someone wants to read about it.
Re: (Score:1)
Some people are saying everything is killing bees, and it's been nonsense.
Somewhere (Score:2)
Somewhere there's at least one person with "Bee Shaver" on their CV.
"We have a dire emergency, and we hear you're the best. There's a rare species of wasp invading the U.S. and we need to tag'em before we can bag'em."
"Just tell me one thing: Where are the tweezers?"
missing obligs (Score:2)
In Soviet Russia, bees attach sensors to YOU.
It's so not-funny I can't believe nobody posted it yet.
Imagine Natalie Portman covered in hot bees with sensors...
Re: (Score:2)
Just cover her with honey and you'd have a fight between the bees and the men who want to lick it off her body.
Let it bee (Score:1)
Let it bee
Results in (Score:2)
Bees participating earlier in this study received lower numbered UIDs than later bees. Bees with greater karma and more points to spend modded down less popular bees. Divisions between bee populations and resulting flame wars erupted throughout the hive.
Hah... (Score:2)