From	DATA2 CREATES WORLD'S SMALLEST BARCODE

DATA2 client: Dr. Stephen Buchmann, Carl Hayden Bee Research Center, Tucson, Arizona.

Problem: Dr. Buchmann wanted to find a way to track bees when they left the hive. He needed to know how far bees fly to find pollen, how long they’re gone and how often they leave and return to the hive. Answers would help bee keepers improve the productivity and profitability of their operations.

If a tiny bar code could be affixed to the bees, their flight patterns could be monitored, suggested Dr. Buchmann. With DATA2’s reputation for ingenious identification technology, we were asked to develop a bar coding system for the bees. The bar code label had to be miniaturized, lightweight (so as not to affect the bees’ aerodynamics), durable, and provide first-scan readability.

Solution: How did we create the world’s smallest bar code? We developed a paper label 1/20th the weight of the pollen a bee carries, shaped to fit a bee’s thorax. To enable us to produce such tiny labels, the bar codes were created using our photocomposition process that prints individual lines as small as 1/1000” wide. To apply the labels, each bee was put to sleep for two seconds with a short burst of carbon dioxide, giving the researchers enough time to quickly glue a tiny label on the bee’s back. A laser scanner mounted over the tunnel-shaped entrance to the hive then recorded their activities.

For more information, contact barcodelabels@data2.com

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