It seems to be a slippery slope mankind is walking with technology. Robotic 'bees' to replace the natural order of our planet, rather than targeting the cause of bee colony collapse is bound to have even further consequences these 'great' minds haven't even considered yet.
Practical Applications
Coordinated agile robotic insects can be used for a variety of purposes including:
autonomously pollinating a field of crops;
search and rescue (e.g., in the aftermath of a natural disaster);
hazardous environment exploration;
military surveillance;
high resolution weather and climate mapping; and
traffic monitoring.
Inventions like this make me wonder if some future date won't have a mini robocop following every human on the planet. Everything has a polar opposite, and the opposite of the 'good' that these mini robots can do doesn't paint a very pretty picture!
This just seems like a scary thought. Whats next robosharks when the populations of sharks drop off from overfishing the ocean? It would be better to change our bad habits then create mechanical critters..
If you have a headache, do what it says on the aspirin bottle: Take two, and KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN.