November 18, 2014

Source: Investigacion y Desarrollo via AlphaGalileo

A group of entrepreneurs in Veracruz (east coast state in Mexico) designed a "smart" system to contain the growth of larvae of the mite Varroa destructor among the bee population, which reduces the production of honey for as much as 50 percent when it invades the hives.

The technology called "Electronic Detection System" involves the application of a formula based on thymol and other substances through a spray device of automated steam which removes Varroa destructor larvae from the hives. This offers an integral solution to beekeepers, and thus to the entire food chain, since the pollination by bees affects more than half of current agricultural products.

According to the biologist Erik Leon Guevara, who has lead this project for several years, the Varroa destructor pest severely affects the population of bees worldwide causing various types of diseases among insects. This led him to formulate a product to control the pest.

"The first thing we did was to develop a product based on thymol, a substance contained in natural products such as thyme, which has proved efficient in controlling the mite (Varroa)," says Leon Guevara.

He explained that the thymol pill was developed during his professional studies at the Universidad Veracruzana (UV), and now the formula is in the process of being patented.

However, one of the problems presented by beekeepers who used thymol, is that inadequate dosing produced negative effects on bees, so the team of entrepreneurs developed an automated sprinkler steam system.

The system is a kind of container. At the top has a funnel where the thymol tablet is placed by the beekeeper; in its interior is a heating plate automatically controlled by a temperature sensor that evaporates the tablet, finally, by means of a fan, the formula is dispersed into the hive.

The Mexican entrepreneur is currently working on a product improvement, designing a software -based on images- that automatically detects the presence of Varroa larvae inside the hive, which aims to fully automate the process of detecting and eliminating the pathogen .

With this development, Erik Leon Guevara formed the company Processmatic, which is supported by the business accelerator iLab in Veracruz, and was one of the projects selected to participate in the "Creative Bussiness Cup", which will be held this December in Denmark, an international competition to choose the best creative entrepreneur in the world. (Agencia ID)