​GV professors and students help researchers study honey bee population decline

Computing professor Jonathan Engelsma created a web application that allows users to remotely monitor and share the conditions of bee hives with other researchers. Engelsma hopes the application, created with the help of students, will help researchers find the cause of the decline of honey bees. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, bee keepers are losing 30 percent of their colonies each year, compared to 10 to 15 percent prior to 2006. The application is undergoing a testing period and could be open to the public next spring. It will collect data including weight, temperature and humidity of the hive.