World Bee Day 2024, established by the United Nations in 2017 to raise awareness on the role of pollinators and the risks they currently face, was celebrated at the Embassy of Italy with a well-attended scientific seminar.
The event took place in two parts:
1) A guided tour of the beehives installed in the residence gardens, made possible by the valuable contribution of Cormac Farrell, a leading beekeeper in the capital, who illustrated all aspects of bee life, particularly interesting at this time of year when they are preparing for the upcoming winter and they are employing a combination of strategies, including, to our delight, the production and storage of honey.
2) After the tour, we all gathered in the Embassy’s theater, where Sridhar Ravi, a professor of engineering at UNSW Canberra, explained how bees navigate our world. He discussed how bees measure distances, safely land on a flower swayed by the wind, fly sideways through narrow gaps, and process all this information ten times faster than humans. Their very simple yet highly efficient approach has inspired various engineering applications, including drone navigation on the surface of Mars. Complex concepts were made understandable by an experienced scientist and talented communicator.
