Kickstarter Campaign – A ‘health guru’ for bees: Montana researchers develop app to gauge colony health

The bees didn’t mind Colin Henderson’s microphone.

On Tuesday, the Missoula College professor plugged a long, narrow rod into his smartphone and slid it into one of the beehives he keeps at Fort Missoula. For 30 seconds, he set down his phone and let it record. An app he and his colleagues are developing, Bee Health Guru, analyzed the audio for signs of eight different bee colony problems. This hive was normal on all counts.