SAVE THE BEES: WHY NIGHTTIME OPERATIONS ARE ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE
Known as the Pollinating Queens, bees have played the most important role in the continuous development of biodiversity and the very survival of humans.
Sadly, recent studies over the past decade suggest the population of bees is going down at a rate that will could lead to tremendous negative impacts across the globe.
For those unaware of how bees help a variety of ecosystems and provide for a variety of ongoing needs, here is a short list of the ways bees contribute to the everyday lives of millions, if not billions of people.
- Bees are known to provide the highest and the purest quality of honey; a product that offers multiple health benefits and medical uses. Similarly, honey production supports a variety of businesses and contributes to the livelihood of tens of thousands of people across both rural and urban areas.
- Bees are an integral part of the earth’s pollination process responsible for transporting about 80% of the pollinating flower seeds they come into contact with.
- Bees are highly responsible for the success of the crops that feed us. In fact, experts at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)1 claim about 33.33% of the world's food production is directly linked to bees.
- Bees have contributed significantly to the evolution of mankind long before humans put their first foot forward on this planet. The earth’s wide variation in biodiversity is the direct outcome of bees' contribution.
Sadly, human activity has affected the livelihood of bees over recent years, and experts claim that the annual decline in bee population is very close to 40% - a number characterized as 'unsustainable'.
Some of the major contributors to this unsustainable decline are:
- Extensive use of harmful pesticides
- Aggressive human activities
- Rapid release of pollutants in the air via industry
- Large-scale forestry is destroying bees' natural habitat.
Those concerned about the wellbeing of bees have started to find ways to ensure minimal disruption during operations.
One way we can minimize this disturbance is to operate during the evenings.
Common bees, such as the honey bees we see across Canada and the United States and bumblebees, are not considered nocturnal. Thus, any opportunity to perform work across large areas of land during the evening can ensure minimal disruption to their population.
Remote Piloted Aerial Application Systems (RPAAS or ‘drones’) present a wide variety of advantages. Their speed, agility, and wide range of abilities allow them to cover vast and hard to reach spaces with equal success, making them an excellent fit for a variety of vegetation and reclamation needs. But in addition to being amazing during the day, they also present the unique advantage of being able to operate with extreme efficiency and accuracy in the dark.
Generally speaking, this nocturnal ability makes them an excellent solution for those looking to avoid anything that presents a challenge during the day - like wanting to leave the bees alone.
Working at night presents a ton of additional advantages that most farmers already leverage. Any opportunity to keep ahead of the weather and avoid the extreme heat during harvest, equipment transportation, maintenance, and pesticide application are something that every farmer considers, and nighttime operations and drones go together like bees and honey.
With the ability to do everything that traditional equipment can do in the areas of seeding, mapping, spraying and data collection, drones are also unmatched when it comes to operating in the dark.
Using lights and cameras, remote operators are able to deliver huge value while others sleep - including leaving the bees to do an equally impressive job during the day.
For more information on what our RPAAS fleet can do for you both during the day and into the night - give us a shout. We’ll help you Boldly Grow!
References
National Honey Bee Day: These foods could disappear if pollinator populations continue to dwindle. (n.d.). Retrieved from ABC News: https://abcnews.go.com/US/national-honey-bee-day-foods-disappear-pollinator-populations/story?id=79545939#:~:text=The%20honey%20bee%20population%20decreased,experts%20described%20as%20%22unsustainable.%22
Why bees are essential to people and the planet. (n.d.). Retrieved from UNEP: https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/why-bees-are-essential-people-and-planet