In 2015 we created the BeeMapp smartphone app for researchers at Exeter University.
BeeMapp is part of the BEEHAVE project and this year the project won the prestigious BBSRC Social Impact Innovation Award. Hooray!!
BEEHAVE – what is it?
BEEHAVE is a computer model which you can use to simulate the effects of stress on bee colonies. Factors such as disease, pesticides, land-use change and beekeeping techniques are all factored in.
With pollinator populations known to be in decline our current levels of global food production are under threat. BEEHAVE aims to help address this by enabling people to make informed choices when it comes to land management and beekeeping practices. Understanding what a bee colony needs during its life is critical. For example, evaluating the availability of food throughout the season is vital. That’s why we created the BeeMapp smartphone app. You simply plot areas of forage near your hives using the app and it will then calculate what nectar and pollen resources are available. Simple! These data can then be uploaded to BEEHAVE.
BEEHAVE has attracted substantial interest from regulators and agrochemical companies. In fact, the European Food Safety Authority has evaluated BEEHAVE and is now using it as the exemplar to design further models for bee health risk assessments.
The awards
Now in their ninth year, the BBSRC Innovator of the Year awards recognise individual researchers and teams who have excelled in making positive changes outside of the academic community with their research. The awards celebrate the positive effect that innovation in the biosciences has on lives, society and the economy.
Have a look at BeeMapp here.