With Bees Scarce, A Drone Pollinates A New York Apple Orchard

[rangerrebew]

 With Bees Scarce, A Drone Pollinates A New York Apple Orchard

by Dan Robitzski June 7, 2018 Robots & Machines

Gather ‘round! Let me tell you the story of Droney Appleseed.

You see, in the 21st century, bee populations were dying off because everyone was using too many toxic pesticides. Farmers were starting to notice that the fuzzy little workers were starting to vanish because their crops weren’t getting pollinated. Boy, was everyone in a real pickle then! Thankfully, Droney Appleseed came to the rescue, flying over the farmland and spraying pollen wherever it went.

OK, so, we’re probably not ready to make children’s books about this stuff quite yet. But! An apple orchard was just pollinated by a drone for the first time.

https://futurism.com/drone-bees-pollinate-new-york-apple-orchard/

[thackney]

Assigning blame to the pesticides and ignoring the real cause of most of the bee population destruction is insane.

An invasive species of mites is well documented to be the major problem in bee population.

The right pesticide is likely to be the solution, not the problem.

https://beecare.bayer.com/media-center/news/detail/a-new-way-of-protecting-bees-against-varroa-mites

[Sanguine]

Are they talking about our native bees?  Because if I go sit outside with a soda, the bees find me.  Seem to be just fine.