Lamborghini bee biomonitoring project helps control pollution in Italian town

MANILA: In celebration of World Bee Day today, Lamborghini presented its initiatives in safeguarding the environment, including the environmental biomonitoring project that was launched in 2016 with the installation of an apiary in the Lamborghini Park in Sant’Agata Bolognese.

The apiary started with eight hives, which has now grown to 12. It has a population of around 600,000 bees, 120,000 of which forage around the territory.

Just recently, the apiary received a “technological beehive” from the Audi Foundation. It is equipped with a video camera inside and another one outside the hive. This provides more detailed data for the studies being conducted in the apiary as it gives a close-up look on the behavior of the insects.

With the help of entomological and apicultural experts, the company has analyzed that the hive matrices, such as the honey, wax, and bees themselves, can detect a wide range of environmental pollutants. Since the bees forage within a radius of approximately three kilometers, the analysis helps in controlling pollution in the areas near the production plant and the residential area of Sant’Agata Bolognese.

An experimental study for biomonitoring of solitary bee colonies was also conducted. Solitary bees have a shorter foraging radius (200 meters) as compared to social bees. Each female solitary bee takes care of its own offspring, unlike social bees which only take care of the queen bee’s offspring. More specific areas are being monitored as the colonies are located inside Lamborghini Park and near the production site. This also allows the company to collect more effective data for the analysis of the site’s environmental impact.

The bee biomonitoring project is part of Lamborghini’s environmental sustainability strategy that started in 2009. This strategy helped Lamborghini receive a certification as a CO₂ neutral company in 2015.

Photos from Lamborghini

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