Micro-sensors stuck to honey bees to help solve mass deaths

This undated handout picture released August 25, 2015 by Australia's national science agency the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) shows a micro-sensor glued onto the back of a honey bee to monitor its movements. - AFP PHOTO / CSIRO

SYDNEY, Aug 25, 2015 (AFP) - Australian scientists revealed Tuesday they are using micro-sensors attached to honey bees as part of a global push to understand the key factors driving a worldwide population decline of the pollinators.

There has been a sharp plunge in the population of honey bees, which pollinate about 70 percent of global crops, or one-third of food that humans eat including fruits and vegetables, raising fears over food security.