Australia is the last inhabited continent that hasn’t been impacted by the Varroa Destructor (Varroa mite), however, experts predict that it’s only a matter of time before it establishes itself in Australia.
To support the launch of Bega’s new range of honey, we created ‘The Purple Hive Project’. An A.I monitoring system, that has been designed to protect honey bees and the Australian agriculture industry from the Varroa Destructor. The Purple Hive has been deployed in ports across Australia in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture Australia.
The Purple Hive works by scanning each individual bee that enters the hive. The AI algorithm can tell the difference between a bee carrying the Mite and a bee without. If a Mite is detected, an alert is instantly sent which provides an opportunity to stop the spread of the Mite.
The Purple Hive Project featured in a 5 page hard copy spread in the 75th anniversary of the Australian Geographic magazine.
The initiative also featured in a long form film piece on one of Australia’s biggest news outlets ABC Landline. The ABC landline segment further spurred the conversation and process of integration of the hives into the sentinel monitoring system of Australia’s ports.
Bega is working with Agriculture Victoria as part of the National Bee Pest Surveillance Program for the project, with hives being installed alongside sentinel hives, already being managed and monitored by Agriculture Victoria. The Port of Melbourne was identified as the most likely entry points of bee pests, such as Varroa destructor, in Victoria.