Dr Jonathan Pattrick appears on BBC's Inside the Factory

Eric and Wendy Schmidt AI in Science Fellow Dr Jonathan Pattrick appeared on BBC's Inside the Factory: Throat Lozenges on 20 January, where he led a short segment exploring how bees begin the process of turning nectar into honey. Filmed at Oxford Bee Lab, the segment followed Jonathan as he guided the presenter through the early stages of honey production, offering a close-up look at the biology and behaviour of honeybees.

During the show, Jonathan sets up a live demonstration of how honeybees consume nectar, store it in their ‘honey stomach’, then pass it between themselves using a tongue-like organ. This repeated exchange slowly increases the nectar’s concentration, kicking off the process of honey production.

Jonathan joined the Schmidt AI in Science Fellowship in September 2025, and his research aims to find out how bees optimise their foraging. Working in collaboration with experts in miniaturised sensor design from The University of Sheffield, Jonathan will fit bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) with micro-accelerometers – or ‘bee backpacks’ – to record the motion and muscle activity of individual bees. Using machine learning techniques, he will then use the accelerometer data to identify the time dedicated to different behaviours such as flying, flower visiting, and body temperature regulation (thermogenesis), giving unparalleled detail on bumblebee foraging trips.

Jonathan also plans to identify the general type of flowers that a bumblebee is visiting and distinguish between nectar and pollen foraging. When pollen foraging, bumblebees have distinct behaviours like vibrating flowers for ‘buzz-pollination’ – which is energetically expensive – giving characteristic accelerometer data.

This will help us understand the energetic factors that influence the choices bees make about which flowers to visit. Existing technology is not only expensive but isn’t sensitive enough to distinguish between the different behaviours – Jonathan’s work combining cheaper tech and machine learning will allow him to delve into this understudied area.

You can watch the episode here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m002q8b5/inside-the-factory-serie…