Slide
Centre Interdisciplinaire
de Recherche et d’Innovation
en Cybersécurité et Société
de Recherche et d’Innovation
en Cybersécurité et Société
1.
Abdollahi, M.; Zhu, Y.; Guimãraes, H. R.; Coallier, N.; Maucourt, S.; Giovenazzo, P.; Falk, T. H.
On the Prediction of Varroa Mite Infestations in Honey Bee Colonies via Acoustic Monitoring Journal Article
In: IEEE Sensors Journal, vol. 26, no. 8, pp. 12157–12167, 2026, ISSN: 1530437X (ISSN).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Acoustic measuring instruments, Acoustic monitoring, Acoustic variables measurement, Acoustics, Beehive acoustic, Beehive acoustics, Ecosystems, Food products, Honey bee, honey bees, Honeybee colonies, Learning systems, Machine learning approaches, Modulation spectrogram, Motion compensation, Nearest neighbor search, Parasite-, Random forests, Sanitary sewers, Spectrograms, Spectrographs, Support vector machines, Varroa destructor, Varroa mite infestation
@article{abdollahiPredictionVarroaMite2026,
title = {On the Prediction of Varroa Mite Infestations in Honey Bee Colonies via Acoustic Monitoring},
author = {M. Abdollahi and Y. Zhu and H. R. Guimãraes and N. Coallier and S. Maucourt and P. Giovenazzo and T. H. Falk},
url = {https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105031477347?origin=resultslist},
doi = {10.1109/JSEN.2026.3666127},
issn = {1530437X (ISSN)},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-01-01},
journal = {IEEE Sensors Journal},
volume = {26},
number = {8},
pages = {12157–12167},
publisher = {Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.},
abstract = {Honey bees play a vital role in global ecosystems and agriculture through their pollination services. However, the Varroa destructor mite remains one of the most damaging parasites affecting honey bee health, contributing significantly to colony decline. Early detection of Varroa infestation is essential for effective beekeeping management. In this study, we propose a machine learning approach for predicting Varroa mite infestation levels based on the acoustic analysis of hive recordings. We introduce a set of nine spectral shape descriptors (SSDs) computed from conventional and modulation spectrograms to characterize the acoustic environment within hives. We evaluate the predictive power of these features against traditional cepstral features across multiple classifiers, including support vector machines (SVMs), random forests (RFs), and k-nearest neighbors (KNNs). Our results demonstrate that the proposed SSDs significantly improve the classification performance relative to conventional features across numerous figures of merit, particularly in hive-independent test settings. This work highlights the potential of spectral acoustic monitoring combined with the supervised learning as a scalable and noninvasive tool for precision beekeeping and early detection of parasitic threats. © 2001-2012 IEEE.},
keywords = {Acoustic measuring instruments, Acoustic monitoring, Acoustic variables measurement, Acoustics, Beehive acoustic, Beehive acoustics, Ecosystems, Food products, Honey bee, honey bees, Honeybee colonies, Learning systems, Machine learning approaches, Modulation spectrogram, Motion compensation, Nearest neighbor search, Parasite-, Random forests, Sanitary sewers, Spectrograms, Spectrographs, Support vector machines, Varroa destructor, Varroa mite infestation},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Honey bees play a vital role in global ecosystems and agriculture through their pollination services. However, the Varroa destructor mite remains one of the most damaging parasites affecting honey bee health, contributing significantly to colony decline. Early detection of Varroa infestation is essential for effective beekeeping management. In this study, we propose a machine learning approach for predicting Varroa mite infestation levels based on the acoustic analysis of hive recordings. We introduce a set of nine spectral shape descriptors (SSDs) computed from conventional and modulation spectrograms to characterize the acoustic environment within hives. We evaluate the predictive power of these features against traditional cepstral features across multiple classifiers, including support vector machines (SVMs), random forests (RFs), and k-nearest neighbors (KNNs). Our results demonstrate that the proposed SSDs significantly improve the classification performance relative to conventional features across numerous figures of merit, particularly in hive-independent test settings. This work highlights the potential of spectral acoustic monitoring combined with the supervised learning as a scalable and noninvasive tool for precision beekeeping and early detection of parasitic threats. © 2001-2012 IEEE.
2.
Guimaraes, H. R.; Abdollahi, M.; Zhu, Y.; Maucourt, S.; Coallier, N.; Giovenazzo, P.; Falk, T. H.
Benchmarking Self-Supervised Audio Representations for IoT-Enabled Acoustic Beehive Monitoring Journal Article
In: IEEE Internet of Things Journal, vol. 12, no. 21, pp. 45000–45010, 2025, ISSN: 23274662 (ISSN).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Acoustics, Audio acoustics, Audio representation, Beehive monitoring, Benchmarking, Bioacoustics, Computer vision applications, Deep learning, Honeybee, honeybees, Internet of Things (IoT), IoT, Labeled data, Performance, Real time systems, Self-supervised learning, self-supervised learning (SSL), Societal benefits, Speech applications, Speech recognition, Supervised learning, Universal feature extractors
@article{guimaraesBenchmarkingSelfSupervisedAudio2025,
title = {Benchmarking Self-Supervised Audio Representations for IoT-Enabled Acoustic Beehive Monitoring},
author = {H. R. Guimaraes and M. Abdollahi and Y. Zhu and S. Maucourt and N. Coallier and P. Giovenazzo and T. H. Falk},
url = {https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105013592730?origin=resultslist},
doi = {10.1109/JIOT.2025.3599483},
issn = {23274662 (ISSN)},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-01-01},
journal = {IEEE Internet of Things Journal},
volume = {12},
number = {21},
pages = {45000–45010},
publisher = {Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.},
abstract = {Self-supervised learning (SSL) has enabled the development of universal feature extractors that have redefined the performance envelope of computer vision and speech applications. Recent works have started to explore SSL in other domains, including bioacoustics, which could have significant societal benefits. Honeybees (Apis mellifera), for example, are crucial pollinators contributing to one-third of global food production. However, massive colony losses in recent years have raised concerns. Traditional hive monitoring methods rely on intrusive visual inspections by beekeepers, which can further disrupt colony dynamics. As such, Internet of Things (IoT)-based automated monitoring systems have emerged, integrating environmental and bioacoustic sensing to enable real-time, noninvasive hive assessment. In this work, we introduce a comprehensive evaluation and benchmarking of general-purpose and bioacoustic audio representations that generalize across various tasks in IoT-enabled acoustic beehive monitoring, even with limited labeled data. Herein, fourteen models are evaluated across four critical tasks: beehive state detection, beehive strength assessment, buzzing identification, and beekeeper voice activity detection. Reported results demonstrate the strong generalizability of existing representations, paving the way for advanced, scalable honeybee colony monitoring and preservation. © 2014 IEEE.},
keywords = {Acoustics, Audio acoustics, Audio representation, Beehive monitoring, Benchmarking, Bioacoustics, Computer vision applications, Deep learning, Honeybee, honeybees, Internet of Things (IoT), IoT, Labeled data, Performance, Real time systems, Self-supervised learning, self-supervised learning (SSL), Societal benefits, Speech applications, Speech recognition, Supervised learning, Universal feature extractors},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Self-supervised learning (SSL) has enabled the development of universal feature extractors that have redefined the performance envelope of computer vision and speech applications. Recent works have started to explore SSL in other domains, including bioacoustics, which could have significant societal benefits. Honeybees (Apis mellifera), for example, are crucial pollinators contributing to one-third of global food production. However, massive colony losses in recent years have raised concerns. Traditional hive monitoring methods rely on intrusive visual inspections by beekeepers, which can further disrupt colony dynamics. As such, Internet of Things (IoT)-based automated monitoring systems have emerged, integrating environmental and bioacoustic sensing to enable real-time, noninvasive hive assessment. In this work, we introduce a comprehensive evaluation and benchmarking of general-purpose and bioacoustic audio representations that generalize across various tasks in IoT-enabled acoustic beehive monitoring, even with limited labeled data. Herein, fourteen models are evaluated across four critical tasks: beehive state detection, beehive strength assessment, buzzing identification, and beekeeper voice activity detection. Reported results demonstrate the strong generalizability of existing representations, paving the way for advanced, scalable honeybee colony monitoring and preservation. © 2014 IEEE.
3.
Abdollahi, M.; Zhu, Y.; Guimarães, H. R.; Coallier, N.; Maucourt, S.; Giovenazzo, P.; Falk, T. H.
UrBAN: Urban Beehive Acoustics and PheNotyping Dataset Journal Article
In: Scientific Data, vol. 12, no. 1, 2025, ISSN: 20524463 (ISSN).
Abstract | Links | BibTeX | Tags: Acoustics, animal, Animals, bee, Bees, Phenotype, Quebec
@article{abdollahiUrBANUrbanBeehive2025,
title = {UrBAN: Urban Beehive Acoustics and PheNotyping Dataset},
author = {M. Abdollahi and Y. Zhu and H. R. Guimarães and N. Coallier and S. Maucourt and P. Giovenazzo and T. H. Falk},
url = {https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105001718795?origin=resultslist},
doi = {10.1038/s41597-025-04869-1},
issn = {20524463 (ISSN)},
year = {2025},
date = {2025-01-01},
journal = {Scientific Data},
volume = {12},
number = {1},
publisher = {Nature Research},
abstract = {In this paper, we present a multimodal dataset obtained from a honey bee colony in Montréal, Quebec, Canada, spanning the years of 2021 to 2022. This apiary comprised 10 beehives, with microphones recording more than 3000 hours of high quality raw audio, and also sensors capturing temperature, and humidity. Periodic hive inspections involved monitoring colony honey bee population changes, assessing queen-related conditions, and documenting overall hive health. Additionally, health metrics, such as Varroa mite infestation rates and winter mortality assessments were recorded, offering valuable insights into factors affecting hive health status and resilience. In this study, we first outline the data collection process, sensor data description, and dataset structure. Furthermore, we demonstrate a practical application of this dataset by extracting various features from the raw audio to predict colony population using the number of frames of bees as a proxy. © The Author(s) 2025.},
keywords = {Acoustics, animal, Animals, bee, Bees, Phenotype, Quebec},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In this paper, we present a multimodal dataset obtained from a honey bee colony in Montréal, Quebec, Canada, spanning the years of 2021 to 2022. This apiary comprised 10 beehives, with microphones recording more than 3000 hours of high quality raw audio, and also sensors capturing temperature, and humidity. Periodic hive inspections involved monitoring colony honey bee population changes, assessing queen-related conditions, and documenting overall hive health. Additionally, health metrics, such as Varroa mite infestation rates and winter mortality assessments were recorded, offering valuable insights into factors affecting hive health status and resilience. In this study, we first outline the data collection process, sensor data description, and dataset structure. Furthermore, we demonstrate a practical application of this dataset by extracting various features from the raw audio to predict colony population using the number of frames of bees as a proxy. © The Author(s) 2025.