Category: General news

Thousands of honey bees in Australia are being fitted with tiny sensors as part of a world-first research program to monitor the insects and their environment using a technique known as ‘swarm sensing’.

The research is being led by CSIRO and aims to improve honey bee pollination and productivity on farms as well as help understand the drivers of bee Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), a condition decimating honey bee populations worldwide.

Up to 5,000 sensors, measuring 2.5mm x2.5mm are being fitted to the backs of the bees in Hobart, Tasmania, before being released into the wild. It’s the first time such large numbers of insects have been used for environmental monitoring.

“Honey bees play a vital role in the landscape through a free pollination service for agriculture, which various crops rely on to increase yields. A recent CSIRO study showed bee pollination in Faba beans can lead to a productivity increase of 17%,” CSIRO science leader Dr Paulo de Souza, who leads the swarm sensing project, said.

“Around one third of the food we eat relies on pollination, but honey bee populations around the world are crashing because of the dreaded Varroa mite and Colony Collapse Disorder. Thankfully, Australia is currently free from both of those threats.”

The research will also look at the impacts of agricultural pesticides on honey bees by monitoring insects that feed at sites with trace amounts of commonly used chemicals.

“Using this technology, we aim to understand the bee’s relationship with its environment. This should help us understand optimal productivity conditions as well as further our knowledge of the cause of colony collapse disorder,” Dr de Souza said.

The sensors are tiny Radio Frequency Identification sensors that work in a similar way to a vehicle’s e-tag, recording when the insect passes a particular checkpoint. The information is then sent remotely to a central location where researchers can use the signals from the 5,000 sensors to build a comprehensive three dimensional model and visualise how these insects move through the landscape.

“Bees are social insects that return to the same point and operate on a very predictable schedule. Any change in their behaviour indicates a change in their environment. If we can model their movements, we’ll be able to recognise very quickly when their activity shows variation and identify the cause. This will help us understand how to maximise their productivity as well as monitor for any biosecurity risks,” Dr de Souza said.

Understanding bee behaviour will give farmers and fruit growers improved management knowledge enabling them to increase the benefit received from this free pollination service. It will also help them to gain and maintain access to markets through improving the way we monitor for pests.

“We’re working with the University of Tasmania, Tasmanian Beekeepers Association, local beekeepers in Hobart and fruit growers around the state to trial the technology. Many growers rely on wild bees or the beekeepers to provide them with pollinators so they can improve their crops each year. Understanding optimal conditions for these insects will improve this process,” Dr de Souza said.

To attach the sensors, the bees are refrigerated for a short period, which puts them into a rest state long enough for the tiny sensors to be secured to their backs with an adhesive. After a few minutes, the bees awaken and are ready to return to their hive and start gathering valuable information.

“This is a non-destructive process and the sensors appear to have no impact on the bee’s ability to fly and carry out its normal duties,” Dr de Souza said.

The next stage of the project is to reduce the size of the sensors to only 1mm so they can be attached to smaller insects such as mosquitoes and fruit flies.

Background

Varroa Mite

Varroa mites are external parasites of bees. The mites, which are about the size of a pinhead, use specialised mouthparts to attack developing bee larvae or adult bees, resulting in deformed bees, reduced lifespan and ultimately the destruction of the colony or hive. These mites are the most important pest of honeybees around the world.

Colony Collapse Disorder

Colony collapse disorder (CCD) is a phenomenon in which worker bees from a beehive or European honey bee colony abruptly disappear.  Colony collapse is significant economically because many agricultural crops worldwide are pollinated by European honey bees.

Hear one of Australia’s most influential financial leaders, Ian Narev, talk of how trust and gut instinct has guided his journey to becoming Commonwealth Bank Group general manager and CEO. Mr Narev, who holds Masters degrees in Law and International Relations, will outline the critical challenges for the CBA, particularly the disruptive technology threats from global players and the calls for more competition in the banking sector. He will also outline his vision for growth and the leadership strategies that he believes are essential to a dynamic, innovative and customer-centric organisation. Hosted by journalist and QUT Alumna Ellen Fanning.

Tickets on sale January 13, here.

The QUT Business Leaders’ Forum is recognised as the pre-eminent business leadership event in Brisbane. For over a decade it has developed an international reputation for attracting dynamic world-class leaders in a dialogue on today’s leadership challenges. The Forum informs, challenges and inspires audiences on leadership, business excellence, corporate social responsibility, sustainability and related public policy.

Queensland’s business and political community hear prominent speakers explore trends, issues and ideas shaping the economy and politics of the nation. The Forum is also the city’s premier event for high-level networking.

Each forum features a speaker’s presentation, followed by an informal interview and questions from the audience. Each event is moderated by one of Australia’s most respected journalists, Kerry O’Brien.

Hot Brown Honey Burlesque is raunchy, intelligent and confrontational.

Three very sexy ladies and one cross dressing man titillate, challenge and confront the audience from every which way over about an hour of action packed burlesque crossing genres and genders like most of us cross lines in the footpath.

In a year where this reviewer saw about a dozen different theatrical performances, I certainly left the best til last seeing the New Year in at Woodford Folk Festival with the smartest, sassiest show I saw during 2013.

I can’t say whether you will feel confronted or not. That will depend on your ancestral relationship with colonial exploitation, your sexual orientation and comfort with sexual imagery. Woodford on New Years Eve is not Queensland’s most straight laced crowd by a long shot but I’d say most people in the audience were confronted at some stage during the evening.

The chorus of a song about colonial sperm, “Milky milky the milkman, spreading his cream all over the land” may well shock some. The sight of a man of Dutch heritage picked at random from the audience and dressed as a baby, sucking from the teats of a large black woman singing those words is bound to shock a few more. An extra frisson is provided by a dissertation about the behaviour of colonists “taking women without asking … just like they took the land”. With the added nuance that most white South Africans of note were raised and nursed by black nannies the frisson becomes a palpable tension relieved by laughter as the scene unfolds and the song begins.

By the time the song ends and 350 white hippies are shouting “black power” and “black  is beautiful” it is perfectly clear that the hot brown honeys have the situation in hand, the audience in the palm of their hands and their subliminal messaging well down our collective gullet.

I find myself humming “Milky Milky the Milkman” a full week later as I write and my hair standing on end all over again at the audacity of these very, clever women.

And that is just one of the dozen or so numbers delivered during the course of the evening.

The Hot Brown Honey’s last performed in Brisbane in November. Let’s hope they’ll be back as soon as possible. You can betcha bippy that Westender will be letting you know when they do.

I welcome the announcement of a date for the Griffith by-election.

The people of Griffith deserve an elected federal representative working for them full-time again.

Unfortunately Kevin Rudd let the people of Griffith down by resigning so soon after last year’s election. The people of Griffith deserved better from Labor.

This by-election will give the voters of Griffith the opportunity to choose a strong voice in the Australian Government with the experience to get more done for our community.

As a long-term local resident, a dad, a local doctor, a small business owner and community volunteer with the disadvantaged, I’ve been involved in the Griffith community and its issues for a long time.

I’ve also had the privilege, while president of the AMA, to work with both sides of politics to deliver better health services for all Australians – regardless of their circumstances. I want to use my experience of working with people from across the community to be a strong and effective voice for the people of Griffith in the federal parliament.

I’m standing for election in Griffith to make a real and positive difference for the Griffith community in the federal parliament. I’ll be a strong and experienced voice that local people can rely on.

Some of my priorities are:

• Improving frontline health services, and delivering on our commitment to establish Hummingbird House, a children’s respite and hospice facility at Kangaroo Point;
• Abolishing the Carbon Tax, saving average families $550 next year alone;
• Creating more local jobs by reducing taxes and regulations on small business and increasing their ability to compete – which will be helped by the Government’s new competition review;
• A stronger, safer community through more CCTVs, and support for sporting and community groups.

I ask the people of Griffith for their support to give our community a strong voice in the Australian Government who will get more things done locally.

Westender is relaunching its popular Poetry Prize in conjunction with Bent Books. Bent Books is providing a $50 book voucher for the winning poem each month. The Reverend Hellfire of Kurilpa Poets will be judging the poetry award.

The Reverend Hellfire will act in the capacity of judge and contact point for poets wishing to participate. Poems may be submitted using the comments form below or by email to info@westender.com.au

The best entries received before Feb 24th will be published in the March edition of Westender.

The Newman Government is refocusing Tourism and Events Queensland’s (TEQ) international operations.

Minister for Tourism, Major Events, Small Business and the Commonwealth Games, Jann Stuckey said these changes will see the agency focus on key growth markets, to assist the doubling of annual visitor expenditure from $15 billion to $30 billion by 2020.

“These changes include increasing TEQ’s presence in key growth markets of China, Singapore, India and Indonesia while maintaining a balanced effort in traditional markets,” she said.

“The Newman Government has made it a priority to reinvigorate this pillar of the Queensland economy.

“In December last year we combined the resources and expertise of the former Tourism Queensland and Events Queensland into the new Tourism and Events Queensland to  focus on driving growth in Queensland’s tourism and event industries.

“In the year to June 2013, Queensland outperformed national growth across all of these international markets with visitor numbers increasing from China (24%), Singapore (41%), India (20%) and Indonesia (32%).

“Visitors from these emerging markets represent more than 20 per cent of all international travellers and visitor expenditure to Queensland, collectively contributing more than $783 million to the state during the past financial year.”

These changes meant that, Tourism and Events Queensland will:

• Increase its presence in China with the addition of a Beijing representative to target the northern China market and a specialist digital marketing resource in Shanghai.
•  Establish a market presence in Indonesia by appointing a Jakarta based representative.
• Develop a South East Asia hub based in Singapore recognising its importance as a vital transit hub. The office will also oversee and expand representation in India.
• Appoint an in-market representative in the Americas to capitalise on emerging opportunities in South America as well as continuing to grow the USA and Canada markets.

Minister Stuckey said the organisation had undertaken a review of its international operations with a view to ensure Queensland maintains a presence across a balanced portfolio of international markets.

“This action is further evidence of how the Newman Government is delivering its commitment to grow a four pillar economy.”