SBIR Phase I: Precision Lasers for Controlling a Major Agricultural Parasite

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目旨在开发和验证一种针对影响蜜蜂的特定害虫的新解决方案。世界各地的养蜂人都认为瓦螨是导致蜂群损失的主要原因，在美国，瓦螨每年造成的农业损失估计为20亿美元。自从20世纪80年代末到达美国以来，瓦螨已经对大多数已知的化学杀虫剂产生了抗药性，养蜂人几乎没有什么治疗选择，也不会对蜂群产生负面影响或污染蜂蜜。该项目将开发一种全年、自动、无化学品的方法来控制瓦螨，有效缓解现有的蜜蜂数量下降，解决北美和欧洲养蜂人面临的主要问题，改善全球粮食和农业供应。本项目的智力优势是将选择性光热分解技术结合对蜜蜂行为的深入了解，跨学科应用于远程探测和消灭有害的蜂害。该项目正在研究使用计算机视觉驱动的识别算法来识别瓦螨（一种严重的蜜蜂寄生虫）的现场功效和成本效益，然后引入高功率激光脉冲，在螨虫仍然附着在受感染的蜜蜂上但不伤害宿主的情况下立即摧毁它。研究目标包括量化在生长季节对螨种群生长的负面影响，并确定在一个标准群体中保持永久全年控制瓦螨所需的激光/探测器数量。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop and validate a novel solution for specific pests affecting honey bees. Beekeepers around the globe consistently cite Varroa mites as a leading cause of honey bee colony loss and, in the United States, attribute to these mites an estimated $2 B in agricultural damages every year. Since arriving in the U.S. in the late 1980s, Varroa mites have developed resistance to most known chemical pesticides, leaving beekeepers with few treatment options that do not also negatively impact the colony or contaminate honey. This project will develop a year-round, automatic, and chemical-free method for controlling Varroa mites, effectively mitigating the existing honey bee decline and resolving the chief problem facing beekeepers across North America and Europe, improving global food and agriculture supplies. The intellectual merit of this project is the interdisciplinary application of selective photothermolysis technology combined with in-depth understanding of honey bee behavior to remotely detect and destroy a harmful apicultural pest. This project is investigating the field efficacy and cost effectiveness of employing a computer vision-driven identification algorithm to identify the Varroa mite, a serious honey bee parasite, and then introduce a high-power laser burst to immediately destroy the mite while it remains attached to the infested bee but without harming the host. The research objectives include quantifying the negative effect on mite population growth during the growing season and determining the number of laser/detector devices required to maintain permanent year-round control of Varroa mites in a standard colony.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.