Dr. Ernesto Guzman, director of U of G’s Honey Bee Research Centre and a professor in the School of Environmental Sciences, spoke to Scientific American about in-hive sensors that automatically monitor environmental conditions in hives and promise to alert beekeepers to potential problems.

Guzman commented that while the technology could lighten beekeepers’ workloads, it may not alleviate some of the larger issues plaguing bees, such as commercial agriculture’s pollination practices that may contribute to colony collapse.

Guzman holds the Pinchin Family Chair in Bee Health and studies the genetics and behaviour of honeybees as well as their parasitic diseases.