Most wild bees nest in the ground and are important crop pollinators. Agroscope has shown that it is possible to detect their nests using camera drones – marking a major step forward in the effective monitoring of wild bee populations.
Most wild bees nest in the ground in self-excavated burrows. These insects are vital for crop pollination and soil health. However, many wild bee species are endangered. Efforts to protect them are hampered by the fact that we know little about their nest site requirements – mainly because their nests are hard to find and efficient monitoring methods are lacking.
Tracking wild bee nests by drone
One promising solution is the automated detection of soil mounds, known as tumuli, which indicate nests. Drone imaging combined with modern analytical tools is one possible approach. In a pilot study, Agroscope researchers tested the feasibility of analysing drone images with Deep Learning to distinguish bee tumuli from other soil surface deposits (e.g. earthworm casts). The model achieved a high level of accuracy on a 120 m² area with a dense population of sharp-collared furrow bees (Lasioglossum malachurum).
Further studies for other species and habitats are needed
The study demonstrates the potential of this method for more efficient monitoring of ground-nesting bees. Future studies should aim to test transferability to other habitats and species, and investigate other approaches such as image segmentation to enable detection of less obvious tumuli or strongly overlapping structures.
