Data science can help bees and beekeepers. In related industries, precision agriculture technologies that leverage data analytics have increased efficiencies and lowered costs for farmers worldwide. The benefit to Apiculture is no different.

The Bee XML Journal was created to provide researchers, apiculturists, and bee enthusiasts with a global repository of standardized data. The goal of the journal is to publish peer-reviewed research and data standards related to bees and beekeeping and to curate bee-related data from environments across the world.

Our Mission

Our mission is to enable bee data sharing. The journal is peer-reviewed, and all data and research will be published under an open license (CC-BY or CC0). Examples of research we publish include XML standards, technical reports, best practice recommendations on how to share data, and how data can be harmonized and aggregated to facilitate sharing.

Our Procedure

Step 1: Build a standard by pooling common bee-related data, such as hive inspections, apiary management, and apiary suitability

Step 2: Decide on how to measure data by agreeing on one or more standard measures per item

Step 3: Determine the technical architecture of storing, transmitting, and analyzing data from machine to machine

Why XML?

XML, also know as “extensible markup language,” is recommended for data standardization because it is human readable and can be used by non-technical people.

Areas of Interest

We encourage submissions to one or more of the following domains:

• Apitherapy

• Bee Biology

• Bee Health

• Beekeeping Economy

• Beekeeping for Rural Development

• Beekeeping Technology and Quality

• Pollination and Bee Flora

Collaboration

The Bee XML Journal is a collaboration between Appalachian State University’s Center for Analytics Research and Education (CARE), Apimondia (the International Federation of Beekeepers Associations’), and BeeLife, a European NGO that works to establish a brighter future for bees and pollinators.