The APIMARCHE 2020 Project. A collaborative network for monitoring and surveillance. Open data for beekeeping of the Marche Region (Italy)

Bees have taken on the role as a worthwhile bioindicator to describe the healthiness of the agricultural or urban ecosystem in which they live. An health and environmental monitoring experiment has started since 2019, collecting a wide range of data on beekeeping farms in the Marche Region (Italy). The project has the aim to organize a collaborative monitoring network, to detect the seasonal health trend of the main adversities of the hive, represented by pathogens but also exotic insects dangerous for bee colonies. The extension of the monitoring network includes the entire territory of the Marche Region (Italy). The network stations, managed by the same beekeeper that participate in the survey, are made up by smart hives, equipped for automatic measurements and accessible for conventional surveys by the scientific personnel. Each node provides real-time data on production and health trends in the current season such as: Varroa rate, colony and brood strength, growth of honey harvest, pollen and others. The stations will also be able to provide data on the diffusion in the environment of polluting molecules such as persistent organic compounds, biocides used in agriculture, in the health sector and for the control of flies and mosquitoes, which have an impact on pollinating insects. The hives health surveillance, can thus provide useful data to promptly manage health interventions and reduce the chemical and pharmacological impact in productive beekeeping plants. The ApiMarche 2020 project will have a significant economic value. Beekeeping is a breeding of excellence of the Marche Region and represents a relevant market for the products excellence (honey, pollen, royal jelly, propolis), deriving from a well preserved environment. However, this characteristic must be made a certified value, through the dissemination of correct practices and objective checks, in order the final product will be recognizable. The collaborative activity of the network has the value of incentivizing beekeepers to resort to laboratory diagnosis through qualified intermediaries such as: beekeeping technicians, public health system veterinarians and those enrolled in the professional association. This is for the benefit of the beekeeping operators themselves, the civil society and the local area