Robot scout bee

Bees are busy indeed, and have proven great allies as both honeymakers and crop-pollinators. California's yearly almond crop, for example, reportedly needs the buzz-by of hundreds of thousands of human-kept bee colonies, many of whom are brought through the state specifically for the almond pollination season. California is alluring for more than just almonds, tho -- and the pollination business, however big, remains subject to the whim of the workers themselves, who may be enticed by more than just the target crop. Trust me, it can be so tough to reach a stubborn bee with silicon, sand, or celluloid stardom on her mind...

But such bees may be cajoled on their own terms, which, like those of human females, often involve dancefloor spectacle. Yes, enter the robot bee scout -- trusty go-between middle manager whom both bee and keeper can do business with. 'Raised' with liveborn hivemates (to ensure she comes across as a round-the-way bee) as well as a critical sprinkling of fellow robot scouts, she can, by remote-controlled boogy, direct her adoptive sisters to food sources chosen by the keeper. On arrival at a novel site, such robot 'scouting' can greatly shorten colony acclimation and food search times, and keep workers focused on desired tasks-at-foot. Pollination efficiency is boosted, colony size better maintained, and overall costs dropped. Perhaps bees could, by such careful direction, even be enticed to perform other vaguely pollination-like tasks, like painting houses, salting roads, swarming fugitives, or smuggling cocaine. I'm sure Karl von Frisch would exult at the possibilities.