as vallejo-marin spoke to the harvard scholars in late 2021 about his goal to use a vibrating source to conduct a controlled study on the characteristics of pollination in different species of bees, an eager hand shot up in the audience. the hand belonged to noah jafferis, ph.d., a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the university of massachusetts. jafferis felt that he could help vallejo-marin achieve his goal by using a completely novel bio-robotic bee to replicate certain types of pollination in experiments. vallejo-marin’s first thought was one of skepticism, as the two researchers come from entirely different scientific backgrounds, but the more they talked, the more they realized that their interests seem to intertwine perfectly.

in march 2022, within months of meeting each other, vallejo-marin and jafferis secured an $840,000 grant from the human frontier science program, an organization that promotes international interdisciplinary research related to living organisms.

“this is one of the best pieces of news that you can receive as a scientist,” vallejo-marin said, with excitement in his voice. “grant writing and getting funds in science is a very difficult process where there is a lot of chance, luck, and being in the right place at the right time.”

vallejo-marin’s biology lab in scotland is filled with the deafening sound of buzzing, which shakes the entire room with high-pitched vibrations. the source of this buzzing becomes clear as vallejo-marin walks over to a large tank in the corner of the lab, looking affectionately at the hundreds of yellow and black insects flying and landing on artificial flowers. the focus of this lab is buzz pollination, which is a fairly rare and under-researched type of bee pollination that is vital to the health and fertilization of over 20,000 plant species and crops across the globe.

“buzz pollination is used on many different plant species, including a number of crops that humans rely on for food sources such as tomatoes and blueberries,” vallejo-marin said. understanding how bees do it and which species do it could improve agriculture and help explain the importance of protecting rare species to maintain bee biodiversity.

not all bees buzz… pollinate

only certain bees can buzz pollinate, and only certain plants can be pollinated in this way. most bees pollinate by landing on flower petals and passively collecting pollen in the hairs on their bodies, which is then spread throughout the area as they fly. however, when the right kind of bee lands on the right kind of flower, the bee will contract the muscles in its thorax and start actively producing vibrations that make the entire flower shake. this motion causes the pollen grains inside to bounce back and forth and eventually shoot out of the flower.

“you can see a shower, almost like a jet stream of pollen coming out of the flower,” vallejo-marin said. “this happens in a fraction of a second, and it takes less than a hundred milliseconds for the bees to shake free thousands and thousands of pollen grains.”

the main challenge that vallejo-marin has faced throughout his research is determining the morphology of buzz pollinators. this information would allow him to decipher what enables buzz pollinators to biologically pollinate in this way, compared to species of bees that cannot produce buzz vibrations. 

“we know very little about what makes a bee buzz a certain way, whether it’s size or speed or ecology or a combination of all of those factors,” vallejo-marin said. he has found that it is extremely difficult to replicate the incredibly fast vibrations that a such a tiny insect produces on a flower. this is where dr. noah jafferis comes in, and this is where bee research will take a turn into the unknown.

creating the prototype

jafferis has been interested in bio-inspired microrobots since he was in graduate school at harvard university, where he helped develop a winged microrobot that was able to fly like a bee and simulate some of the aerodynamic aspects of insect flight. 

“the wings in those robo-bees were powered by piezoelectric actuators that bend back and forth, similar to the muscles that pull a bee’s wings back and forth,” jafferis said. “i realized that these same muscles also produce the vibrations for buzz pollination, and my microrobots may be able to help in mario’s research.”  

piezoelectric actuators are mechanical devices that take electrical energy and convert it directly into linear motion with high speed and force. unlike larger robotic mechanisms, these actuators would be able to vibrate the body of the micro-robotic bee with extreme accuracy and precision while still maintaining the weight and size of an actual bee. although the robo-bee pollinators are currently just prototypes, jafferis is confident that he will be ready to begin the coding process in the near future. 

over the next year, vallejo-marin will be using biomechanical equipment to analyze the buzz patterns of different bee species in his lab, even attempting to put tiny monitors directly on the bees to measure their movements during buzz pollination. 

“there is a variety of information that mario will be measuring, such as the frequency and amplitude of the vibrations in buzz pollination, which i can plug directly into our robo-bees and tell that to vibrate with the same frequencies and amplitudes,” jafferis said. 

but, what can these robotic bees actually tell researchers that living bees cannot, and how would the data influence bee conservation and crop production? 

bio-inspired robots have been utilized to study the behavior and anatomy of many animal species in recent decades, and their use is only growing as they are able to provide novel information that scientists have never before been able to retrieve.

“biomimetic robots enable us to control individuals in experiments, and we can pinpoint differences in the behaviors of live animals, which we cannot do in any other setting,” said david bierbach, a bio-robotics researcher, in a 2021 press conference at the university of konstanz.

jafferis believes that robotics could be the key to achieving detailed analyses of buzz pollination, illustrating how a bee’s characteristics affect their ability to buzz and what types of vibrations are most effective for pollination.

“we can’t tell an actual bee, ‘hey we want to see what happens if you let go of one of your feet,’ but with a robot we can,” jafferis said. “we can tell the robots to vibrate and grab flowers and do things in different ways that a bee is not doing on its own.”

the need for bees

bees are in a current state of worldwide decline, and their biodiversity is suffering in a way that may lead to the complete extinction of certain rare species in the near future.  

“we fear bee decline,” said michael roswell, ph.d., an entomologist at the university of maryland. “with 4,000 species of bees in the united states and 20,000 species on earth, we expect that some will be doing better than others at any given time, but we’re certainly afraid that many rare species are doing worse and worse.”

roswell published a study in april 2022 that highlighted the importance of rare bees in plant-pollinator networks. he and his team were able to show that less common species, many of which were buzz pollinators, often fertilize plants that more common species do not pollinate at all. roswell believes that vallejo-marin and jafferis’ study would expand his research in a way that could help to target bee conservation efforts towards the buzz pollinators that are most in need of protection and that are needed most by their ecological environments.

“we are trying to use this project as a platform to help people realize that not all bees are the same and that different bees do different jobs,” vallejo-marin said. “it is important to maintain the biodiversity of bees so that not just one or two species are doing well, because every species is vitally important.”

if the robotic bees are able to successfully replicate buzz pollination, they may be able to aid in sustainable methods of crop production as well.   

“if one bee species is suffering, the robots could tell us if there is another species that can fill in and pollinate these vital crops instead, or if we need to focus all of our resources on the conservation of that species,” jafferis said.

the researchers are optimistic that they will eventually be able to pair the optimal bee with the optimal crop, which would not only supply humans with an effective and environmentally conscious method of crop fertilization, but would also help bees to strengthen their populations in areas with bounties of plants that match their pollination styles.

over the next three years, vallejo-marin and jafferis will be working toward these sizable goals, combining their expertise to create a groundbreaking interdisciplinary device that may be able to positively influence bees, humans, plants, and the environment as a whole.  

“it is hard to work with bees and not fall in love with them,” vallejo-marin said. “they are such charismatic creatures, and once you care about them you will care about them forever.”

mutezo is a wildlife lawyer, farmer, and mandela washington fellow from the teapot-shaped landlocked country in southern africa known as zimbabwe. this country is not only mutezo’s home, but host to a quarter of the world’s elephant population.

as a child, mutezo spent most of her summer holidays in a small rural village known as nyanyadzi in the town of chimanimani. while there, she nursed a love of nature, community, and agriculture, as she spent most of her leisure time in the fields with friends or in the wild. when mutezo’s father got a job for a coal mining company, her family had to relocate — and their new home just so happened to be situated around one of the oldest national parks in zimbabwe, hwange national park — also known as zim park. while at the park, she learned that every 15 minutes, an elephant is killed in the wild. this explains why only about 400,000 elephants are left in africa today, as opposed to the 10 million wild elephants that roamed the continent in the 1930s, according to the world wildlife fund.

despite this, zimbabwe has one of the largest elephant populations in the world, with a population of more than 100,000 elephants. although a testament to effective conservation efforts, this poses several challenges, as the current population exceeds zim park’s stated ideal capacity of 40,000 elephants. while elephants are near extinction in other parts of the world, zimbabwe is struggling to devise strategies to cope with overpopulation, yet the threats remain the same: human-wildlife conflict and poaching.

human-wildlife conflict is a big issue in zimbabwe, where most wildlife are found in protected areas adjacent to rural, communal lands. and not only is the elephant population increasing, the human population shares the same growth curve. the country increasingly sees food security threatened by elephants that encroach into human spaces, destroying crops and killing humans. mutezo believes this problem can be solved, which is the reason for her choice of educational path.

“after completing high school at peterhouse girls school in zimbabwe, i left my home and family to study environmental law at the university of groningen in the netherlands, one of the most prestigious law schools in europe,” mutezo says. “it was a platform for exposure to various fields of law including my area of specialization — wildlife law.”

during her studies, mutezo had the opportunity to work at the wildlife justice commission (wjc), which greatly shaped her perspective of the wildlife industry.

“it was during my work at wjc that i gained a better understanding and appreciation of the fact that wildlife crime is one of the most lucrative, illegal businesses in the world and considered a multi-billion-dollar industry,” mutezo says.

with the mass exodus of african youth to europe and america in search of better opportunities, one would expect mutezo to stay in the netherlands for “greener pastures.” instead, she packed her bags and returned to zimbabwe.

“motivated by my combined love for people and nature, and equipped with the knowledge gained from my studies and work in the netherlands, i decided to return to zimbabwe,” mutezo says. “it struck me deeply that it took leaving my home to appreciate the impact that wildlife crimes, such as poaching, have on zimbabwe — and the entire globe. my goal was and remains to find home-grown solutions to local and global issues such as wildlife crime. i would like the future generations to enjoy wildlife, too.”

it has been over 5 years since mutezo moved back to zimbabwe, and she has dedicated her law degree to wildlife conservation by working with the tikki hywood foundation.

“i am the first lawyer employed by a conservation organization in zimbabwe,” she says. “my work in case management includes legal advisory on various wildlife crime cases, including cross-border and high-profile matters, and has set precedence as to how wildlife crime cases should be handled across the region. my contribution also extends to drafting and amending key legislation including laws that ensure that endangered species such as rhinoceros, pangolin, and painted dogs are recognized and given the highest protection at law.” 

by developing partnerships with various national authorities, she co-authored a handbook on prosecuting wildlife crimes and educated law enforcement and judicial officers across zimbabwe on wildlife and the law.

“it has been a great honor to innovate and find ways to use the law as a tool to conserve and protect wildlife,” mutezo says. 

having participated in the 2022 cohort of the u.s. state department’s flagship leadership program for young african leaders, the mandela washington fellowship (mwf), at the university of nebraska-lincoln, mutezo feels she has an even tighter grip on her vision to solve the human-wildlife conflict in her country. (in full disclosure, mwf is where this author met mutezo.)

she returns with a wealth of knowledge and access to resources to effectively execute her focus project at hambai wild, a registered agri-business she founded, with the goal of finding solutions to the human-wildlife conflict, by creating natural boundaries between humans and wildlife.

“my solution to this problem is to use one endangered species to protect another, by encouraging beekeeping to scare elephants,” she says. bees, as well as chili pepper, act as natural repellents against elephants. 

“mwf allowed me to turn an idea into an action plan,” mutezo says. “the access to a coach also gave me an opportunity to fine tune the idea into a viable business model that i intend to bring to fruition back in zimbabwe. i also pitched my project to different people from whom i got constructive feedback to transition from inception to execution.”

she intends to use her prowess as a farmer and knowledge as a wildlife lawyer and policy expert to engage communities affected by wildlife conflicts.

to be more practical, she says, “hambai wild will use the contract farming model, by providing inputs to local communities such as seedlings, beekeeping kits, and by empowering the local population with technical expertise and training to grow chili peppers and keep bees. this would allow us the option of buying back the produce and selling sustainably sourced produce.”

just like in a colony where each bee plays a contributing role to the survival of the hive, she looks forward to strategic partnerships with other organizations that have successfully implemented similar models, like save the elephants in kenya and awf (african wildlife foundation) in uganda. 

says mutezo: “i encourage collective action by everyone to protect the zim’s natural resources for future generations.”

the university of mississippi recently joined the worldwide efforts to save honeybees and prevent pollinator extinction by becoming a pollinator friendly campus. as part of this campus initiative, umfs recently became home to the university of mississippi beekeeper club‘s honey bee hives.

club president katelyn pennington and staff advisor douglas sullivan-gonzalez reached out to field station director scott knight in 2019 to use part of their land for their 3 hives. knight said he was happy to help. the hives now reside on part of the 800 acres of land in an old yam field.  

“i love having students, helping with projects, and facilitating that,” knight says. “it’s really rewarding to inspire folks and getting them to come out to the field station, enjoying the property and using it.”

the field station benefits the bees by avoiding the use of insecticides as well as providing a pollinator garden full of wildflowers. the bees, however, are not the only ones benefiting from their new home. knight said he believes the bees have positively impacted the field station by pollinating their facility’s plants as well as teaching him the importance of pollinators and the dangers that come with their decline. 

“we are losing pollinators all over the world,” knight said. “there is a lot of debate as to why. it could be insecticide use or other pollutants that we are not even aware of. habitat loss is usually a factor in any animal that is beginning to disappear, and then there is a mite that is a problem for bees.”  

the um beekeepers have been tending the hives at its new location for one year, but the field station has been involved in pollinator research for about 5 years now. for instance, david wedge from usda natural products laboratory said his hives were at the field station to conduct research on natural mite repellent. he had read that the oil from mint leaves could be used as a natural repellent of mites, so the field station helped wedge in his experiment by planting mint and assisting with data collection. 

the beekeeper club is focused more on learning the art of beekeeping, but also play an active part in saving the bees. sullivan-gonzalez said he started um beekeepers organization when students heard he had hives and showed interest in learning about the hobby of beekeeping. he said the best way to help pollinators is to plant trees, shrubs and plants. 

“pollinators in general within the insect world have diminished drastically, and their loss represents a fundamental threat to the food chain,” he said. 

this new relationship between the umfs and the um beekeepers has made it possible to reduce the threat in a small way and move scientists closer to solutions. the field station has provided the trees, shrubs and plants needed to support pollinators, and it has allowed um to educate others on pollinator issues through hands-on experience.  

ultimately, this relationship has allowed the university of mississippi to become an important part of the global effort to save the bees. 

think of the creature you most despise: something you think has no purpose or that simply freaks you out. you might ask, what’s the point of that organism? if anything this creature is unwanted or pesky. we might not think twice before we step on it or try to get rid of it. true, these species might be unsightly or frightening, however they are just as important to your livelihood as the food on your plate or the roof over your head and here’s why:

willey looked at the creature as an artist, not just as a regular observer, and noticed the hairs on the eyeballs, the hairs on the legs, and all-around “cuteness” that he hadn’t seen before when bees were flying around in his yard.

while he didn’t know it at the time, the bee was sick and died a mere two hours after landing in willey’s studio. he put the bee in the backyard and came back inside to start researching honey bees. that’s when willey discovered a phenomenon called colony collapse disorder.

“i was fascinated that this giant, globally devastating thing was happening, and i had heard nothing about it, not a headline in the newspaper,” willey said.  

colony collapse disorder occurs when hives are abandoned by worker bees without a definitive cause. scientists have pointed to excessive pesticide-use, like roundup, and the presence of varroa mites – parasitic creatures that latch onto bees – as probable instigators of colony collapse.

more than 30 percent of hives in the u.s. collapsed in 2013 due to this phenomenon, according to the environmental protection agency.

altruistic self-removal – where bees remove themselves from a hive if they are sick – is also becoming a more common practice among honey bees who do so for the good of the hive. the bee instinctively realizes that their immune system is collective – it’s based on the hive and not the individual bee.  

beekeepers lost more bees in the summer than the winter months for the first time in 2015, even though hive collapse is more common in the winter. sustainability experts say if colony collapse continues at the same rate, honey bees managed for agricultural purposes will die out by 2035.

the sharp decline in honey bees will also impact agricultural costs, which are estimated to rise $5.7 billion each year, according to a 2011 natural resources defense council report. for major cash crops in california –  like almonds that generate nearly $3 billion each year – the decline in bees could have devastating results as almonds use about half of the honey bees in the united states alone.

now, willey leads the project “the good of the hive.” through the initiative – which he started more than three years ago – willey will paint 50,000 bees in murals around the world, the same amount of bees found in a healthy hive.

willey’s current focus is the smithsonian national zoo, where he will paint hundreds of bees on the walls surrounding the great ape house.

“by painting them really big on a wall and giving it emotional energy, to the bees as a collective, for the individual bees where they are, i think it changes the perception of the person when they’re in their yard with them,” he said.

the mural in d.c. follows the opening of the zoo’s “me and bee” playground in september – an interactive area of the zoo that aims to teach children about the important role of pollinators.

willey said the project could take more than 25 years, giving the initiative’s message time to spread from person to person.  

“that gives us enough time to have things come into focus,” he said. “it can actually be a joyful experience in repairing what needs to be repaired.”

—

video by bridie o’connell and leah potter

what do you see? ivied buildings, trimmed hedges, and manicured lawns full of students scattered about? looks to me like the college experience.

but here i sit in my gw dorm, receiving emails urging me to witness swarming bees outside my window – a phenomenon unfit to the foggy bottom backdrop, yet they came from dr. hartmut doebel’s bee farm atop bell hall. their small but strong presence reminds us that wildlife is campus life. whether we recognize it or not is our choice.

gw’s campus contains over 200 different species [1] and grounds manager, zach pittinger has chosen to recognize our neighbors, rooting campus grounds in ecosystem services and making gw more sustainable for students and bees alike.

cities house denser species populations than those in the wild – from pollinator trees like redbuds to synanthropic species like house sparrows. but urban ecosystems are less diverse [2]. through development we’ve disturbed the vegetative structure and resource availability of previous ecosystems [3],[4], driving native species richness down and allowing invasives to exacerbate that decline. continued planting of annuals and non-natives purely for beautification reduces species richness, productivity and sustainability.

to bring the biota back, we need to cultivate larger, native, and resilient environments on our campuses. increasing native vegetation allows for native-adapted animals to return and pollinate. this restructuring creates corridors for urban species dispersal [5], improved air quality [6], runoff retention and filtration [7], cooled urban heat island effect [8], higher carbon storage [9] and enhanced student wellbeing [10].

“sustainable landscape design is propelling young people in my industry to turn back to horticulture” says zach, with decreasing pesticide use, storm water solutions, and a focus on wildlife and education. but zach points out this is a rediscovery of early agricultural practices of native cultivation. we are moving from a post-world war ii era of neatly manicured land covered in mulch to a different ethos.  

“now we are asking for the return of wild spaces – to work with nature, not against it and evoke a sense of wild,” says zach.

when diagnosed with lyme disease in high school, zach spent his year off gardening with his mom. when i asked, “why gardening?” zach replied, “creating beauty in your backyard is very healing.” in this combination of passion and a love for native plants, zach saw the college campus as a perfect opportunity for beauty, efficiency, and healing to fully integrate for students.

initially attracted to the 2016 gw’s sustainable landscape guidelines – a resource for gw grounds cultivation, it was no coincidence that zach found himself running gw’s 22-person grounds department, “injecting renewed energy and enthusiasm in implementing these guidelines” says kimberly williams from the gw office of sustainability.

in 2018, sustainable grounds – an informal coalition of zach and eager faculty and staff was born. spearheaded by gw’s director of sustainability, meghan chapple, this group unites diverse expertise – from adele ashkar’s prior work as director of gw’s landscape design program to dr. ginger allington’s focus in biogeography. when new projects arise, sustainable grounds huddles together to increase native perennial species richness and develop their optimal placement for pollinator/migratory species attraction and water retention.

“the landscape is the first thing students and parents will notice,” says zach.

it’s a difficult task – preserving the campus image and student experience while cultivating wilder grounds. the urban campus environment is dynamic, as zach exclaims, “we may have just finished landscaping a small townhouse garden, only to be ripped up by the need to excavate a crushed sewer pipe”. though heavy traffic and student life stress the ecosystem, they also present an opportunity to test resilience and to educate our community. “if it can handle hurricane winds, torrential flooding, salt spray, foot traffic, cigarette butts, harsh changes in soil ph, and constant disturbance, then you’ve got yourself a winner,” says zach.

this “living lab” is a uniquely holistic initiative allowing “gw to improve its impact on the local ecosystem and provide students with opportunities to learn about urban sustainability,” says kimberly – a fitting goal for a research university.  

in fall 2019, g street park will be sustainably renovated – a space currently devoid of biodiversity and a “sense of place,” says zach. students use the space as a thoroughfare now, but kimberly illustrates, “with native plants that attract pollinators, outdoor seating, and a sharp aesthetic, g street park will provide a beautiful location for students to gather.”

future plans include planting over one hundred new trees at mount vernon campus, adding thousands of native perennials, renovating flowerbeds at most residence halls, and transferring to locally sourced or our own leaf mulch. zach is looking to enhance our green roofs and ultimately certify campus as an arboretum or botanical garden.

gw grounds is reinventing their community role, taking interns and student volunteers as well as providing future tours to engage students with their new campus. the gw community can further aid in these efforts “by appreciating the native, natural landscape and seeking to view landscapes that are not formally manicured as beautiful,” says kehan desousa from gw’s office of sustainability.

“this work flies under the radar for most of the gw community, but by stopping to smell the asters, students, faculty and staff can not only enjoy the greenery of our urban campuses, but also appreciate their valuable role in restoring a healthy ecosystem,” says kimberly.

it’s time to tweak the campus vision. can you re-imagine the wild side of campus life?

hence the ‘to be continued’ aspect of the poem, in attempts to propose a solution for the story, suny-esf has plans to gather soil samples from vieques which will then be tested in the soils lab on the syracuse campus. this is in order to provide a greater sense of clarity along with hope for the island of vieques. 

please take a listen below:

sources:

honey bee by kevin macleod is licensed under a creative commons attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=usuan1100755

artist: http://incompetech.com/

anthidium manicatum. wool carder bee by cradley, malvern worcs is licensed under a creative commons attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/)

source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/43272765@n04/23218913192

artist: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gails_pictures/

washington—native bees contribute an estimated $3.5 billion to the u.s. economy each year, but their dwindling numbers must be addressed to avoid possible extinction of some species, department of agriculture officials said june 28.

among all native, or u.s.-born, bee species, more than half—about 750—are declining in population and nearly one in four is imperiled and at increasing risk of extinction, a recent study by the center for biological diversity said.

the prolific pollinators are vital to natural ecosystems and enhance the yield of fruits, vegetables, nuts, specialty crops, horticultural plants, and native wildflowers. commercial tomato growers rely heavily on native bees to pollinate their crops, said mary purcell of the national institute of food and agriculture.

“when we are counting the density of native bees in a crop, we are finding significantly more yield, and we are talking about native bees that are local to an area, to a region, and are the most prolific for that season,” said dave hunter of crown bees, a washington-based beekeeping business.

“the world resource institute suggests that between 2016 and 2050 the world needs 69 percent more calories,” he said, “and we can do that with bees.”

president barack obama’s landmark 2014 pollinator memorandum created a task force from the usda, the environmental protection agency, and a dozen other government agencies, to work together on a plan to restore the native bee population. the 2018 farm bill specifies $75 million for the creation and implementation of the plan.

in 2015, the task force released its research plan to “develop baseline data, assess trends in pollinator populations, expand bee identification capacities, and expand collaboration between government and university scientists.”

the government accountability office issued a report last year that concluded, ‘‘the usda has increased monitoring of honey bee colonies managed by beekeepers to better estimate losses nationwide but does not have a mechanism in place to coordinate the monitoring of wild, native bees.”

this year, the usda and others are holding meetings to gather outside testimony as the task force finalizes its plan, pending funding from the farm bill.

at a recent meeting, university of virginia graduate student kathryn lecroy emphasized the importance of the citizen scientist in monitoring bee losses.

“we engaged 98 citizen scientists throughout virginia, with participants using pan trap data and trap nesting data,” lecroy said. “the … study reveals that virginians are passionate about bee data and the demand for more knowledge on bees is strong. they are very interested to see the full results of our study when they come out.”

to get the needed nationwide data, studies like lecroy’s need to be standardized and conducted in every state because there are many species of bees to tabulate and only a handful of bee experts to evaluate the samples, said jonathan mawdsley, science advisor at the association of fish and wildlife agencies.

the task force next will meet with scientists and farmers as it aims to create a standardized method of tracking native bees.