Shaw University News July 2016 Dr. Eric Butler's Award-winning Sensor Tracks the Secrets Lives of Bees Shaw University assistant professor of biology Dr. Eric Butler is giving new meaning to the "secret lives of bees." Using a micro-controller, a timer and a micro-SD card reader similar to those in digital cameras, Dr. Butler has created a sensor that monitors how bees behave and could have far-reaching effects on food production worldwide. For his work, Dr. Butler received the Triangle Business Journal's 2016 BDO Life Sciences Award in May. The category: Outstanding Research by a University. Shaw, among 17 finalists recognized, was the only university recognized for advances in life sciences. The research project is a partnership between Dr. Butler, a behavioral ecologist with a Ph.D. in Zoology from N.C. State University, and Georgia professor Mark Schlueter, who is conducting research on native bees. Shaw student Krystal La Flora, a rising junior, is a project assistant. The bee-sensor monitor allows bee keepers to determine what's happening inside a beehive, as well as assess the well-being of - and threats to - its inhabitants in order to keep habitats suitable for their return each season. While global concern centers on the waning population of honeybees traditionally used in pollination and assure a healthy supply of food and industrial crops, Dr. Butler's research zeroes in on mining bee colonies found burrowed in underground tunnels. Although the mining bee is an often ignored bee species usually considered pests, the bees are excellent pollinators that also aerate soil, making them suitable stand-ins for the honeybee's pollination chores. Dr. Butler programmed the device to track how many bees are in the hive, and how they move in and out of the hive. Data includes a daily count of exits and returns, with information about time, temperature and other conditions at the time of movement. Any bees that don't come back from foraging are assumed dead, Dr. Butler said, which leads to critical information about bee loss, and opens the door to further research into what they did when they left and how that behavior or the environment impacted their inability to return home. Questions that might be answered, for example: At what time of day are bees most active, and how that activity corresponds to may be happening around them, such as scheduled pesticide spraying, wind-blown herbicides or not enough shade? "Beehives are families," Dr. Butler said. "So, if they are not coming back that means something happened to them. If you know when the bees are dying, it helps narrow down what's causing them to die. This research will have much broader implications for food production all over the world." So far, four devices have been deployed in Georgia to monitor as many colonies of mining bees, described as a smaller, more solitary species with a shorter season of activity than honeybees. "They seem to be working," Dr. Butler said of the sensors. "We're hoping to get enough data to publish a paper." The device will be tested on honeybee hives in winter 2016, said Dr. Butler, who learned his hobby of computer programming while in graduate school. Even more interesting than the actual research, "is we can make these," Dr. Butler said, holding up the palm-sized sensor. "I don't think the bee sensor is going to be the last thing - or the best thing - to come out of here." Dr. Butler said he's passionate about ensuring Shaw students are exposed to the future wave in research. "I want to see our students get ahead of the curve on this," he said. Vice president for Academic Affairs, Dr. Paulette Dillard called the recognition of Dr. Butler's work an innovative approach to help address one of society's most critical problems and "proof that Shaw, even though it's a smaller institution, is doing monumental things in the area of research." The work also matches Shaw's mission under the leadership of President Tashni-Ann Dubroy, also a scientist, to intentionally prepare new generations of STEM professionals who graduate from Shaw ready to compete in the global workforce. "Shaw University will become the leading producer of STEM professionals in the 21st century," said Dr. Dubroy. "Dr. Butler, along with our other stellar faculty in the department of natural sciences and mathematics, is committed to educating young scientists, especially minorities who tend to be underrepresented in science fields." SANDRA M. 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