Monitoring of Varroa Infestation Rate in Beehives: A Simple AI Approach

This paper addresses the monitoring of Varroa destructor infestation in Western honey bee colonies. We propose a simple approach using automatic image-based analysis of the fallout on beehive bottom boards. In contrast to the existing high-tech methods, our solution does not require extensive and expensive hardware components, just a standard smart-phone. The described method has the potential to replace the time-consuming, inaccurate, and most common practice where the infestation level is evaluated manually. The underlining machine learning method combines a thresholding algorithm with a shallow CNN—VarroaNet. It provides a reliable estimate of the infestation level with a mean infestation level accuracy of 96.0% and 93.8% in the autumn and winter, respectively. Furthermore, we introduce the developed end-to-end system and its deployment into the online beekeeper’s diary—ProBee—that allows users to identify and track infestation levels on bee colonies.