Young farmer uses high-tech beekeeping, monitoring hive health with chips and big data

On the lake-and-mountain scenery of the Como hills, a "buzz buzz buzz" lingers endlessly. What many people complain about as an annoying noise, Riccardo Balzaretti hears as a meaningful whisper of the bees. "It's like when they are poisoned by pesticides, the volume in the hive rises, because the wingbeat frequency increases." Through electronic sensors and wireless transmission, changes in the long-term recorded curve can be seen in an app on a computer or phone.

Opening the hive, inside are Italian bees (Apis Mellifera Ligustica), also commonly seen in Taiwan, China. Balzaretti points to the bottom of the box, where a small red disc about four centimeters in diameter can record temperature, humidity and sound at the same time; the bees' innermost thoughts are all hidden in the chip.

Pointing to the bustling hive, Balzaretti explained to a Newsmarket reporter, "The temperature also rises, and what is even more obvious is that the humidity inside the hive drops rapidly, because the bees are busy washing away the toxin." When nectar is first collected, it contains a considerable amount of water; only after the bees "process" it does the water content drop to about 17%.

Inject innovation into ancient beekeeping, otherwise it is just marking time

Balzaretti just received his PhD in nanobiology this year, specializing in enzyme analysis. Because he has always loved nature, he gave up a high-paying job at a pharmaceutical company and plunged headlong into the world of bees. "My partner Niccoò Calandri has a PhD in electrical engineering from Politecnico di Milano, specializing in vibration electronics. Five years ago, when we heard about the massive disappearance of bee colonies, we wanted to get into tech beekeeping, but because of our studies we could not devote ourselves fully."

While completing his dissertation, Balzaretti apprenticed himself to learn beekeeping and observe bee behavior, while Calandri applied his strengths to researching sensors. "Beekeeping is an ancient industry, but from the start we decided to bring in innovation, otherwise it is just marking time." On the foundation of agriculture, precision agriculture is unfolding in full swing in Italy, but among insects, bees, which shoulder 80% of the pollination work for plants worldwide, have not seen many people in the industry invest in research and development.