Honeybees are like the A-listers of the insect world. They tend to get all the attention, while other superstar pollinators get overlooked. <\/p>\n
\u201cBeing able to track all pollinators is crucial for getting an accurate picture of ecosystem health,\u201d explains Meg Brennan, founder of insect-monitoring device company Polliknow. <\/p>\n
\u201cPollinating insects are especially valuable because they reflect the health of plant-pollinator relationships, which are essential for ecosystem functioning and stability.<\/p>\n
\u201cCurrently, collecting detailed insect biodiversity data takes enormous amounts of field time, and you\u2019re only getting a snapshot of what\u2019s happening. Another popular method involves traps, which means killing the insects to monitor them. That\u2019s far from ideal when about 40 per cent of insect pollinator species are currently at risk of extinction. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe stark reality is that we\u2019ve lost 69 per cent of all biodiversity on earth since the 1970s, yet we still have very little real-time data on what\u2019s actually happening,\u201d she adds. <\/p>\n
\u201cWhat was needed was a way to collect data at scale to monitor and track nature restoration efforts. This was the inspiration behind Polliknow. Our device can detect all types of pollinators, including butterflies and hoverflies, which do tremendous work in maintaining crop production and biodiversity. We can\u2019t just sweep nature out of our way. That\u2019s what has been happening, and the associated problems are becoming evident.\u201d <\/p>\n
Polliknow is up and running just over a year and has a number of trial projects on the go, which are generating revenue. Potential customers are international and include landowners, private restoration sites, airports, solar farms and data centres. The company charges an annual fee for its service based on the size of the area to be surveyed.<\/p>\n
[\u00a0How can businesses change their business model to support biodiversity?Opens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n \u201cPolliknow can work for any type of organisation that manages land, is serious about increasing biodiversity and wants to track their progress and gather the biodiversity data they need for reporting,\u201d Brennan says. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been working with organisations that have a lot of land but are not doing much with it, and now want to manage it better for nature by letting the wildflowers bloom or adding more native species. We\u2019re also beginning to work with biodiversity credit projects as that emerging market takes shape, and helping verify genuine nature uplift over time.\u201d<\/p>\n The Polliknow monitoring device was designed by Brennan, who has a background in biomedical engineering and an interest in nature and insects that goes way back. As a teenager, she was part of a winning team at the Young Scientist exhibition with a project focused on insect trapping. Five years ago, she started keeping bees. \u201cBees are fascinating – like their own little AI model – and I\u2019ve just got more and more into it,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n The Polliknow device, which is being made here, uses AI and solar-powered ground sensors to continuously monitor an area without disturbing the ecosystem. It gives readings under a number of headings, including species richness and pollinator count and density. \u201cWe use vision for identification purposes, and if required, our data can be sent off for verification to an expert in the field,\u201d Brennan says. <\/p>\n The device typically monitors an area for eight hours a day and stays in place for four to six weeks. Brennan says the ultimate aim is to improve its power capacity with a view to leaving it in place for a full season. <\/p>\n Asked how monitoring can be a force for good, Brennan says the data can be used to inform environmental decision-making, whether that relates to grass-cutting management, tree planting or hedgerow enrichment, for example. <\/p>\n