Robotic bees could help pollinate crops in the future, as global concerns grow over declining insect populations, which could have major implications for food supplies.

Researchers in the UK and US have been awarded a grant to build microrobots that mimic the buzzing of bees. The tiny robots are the size of a fingernail and weigh a quarter of a honeybee.

“This allows us to control the vibrations – the pitch, strength and timing – and simulate the interactions of bees with flowers to really understand how the characteristics of the bee and the buzz affect pollination,” said one of the grant recipients, Mario Vallejo-Marin, a senior lecturer in biological and environmental sciences at the University of Stirling, in the press release.

The researchers say that 20,000 plants, including many food crops, rely on buzz pollination, in which the buzz of a bee shakes pollen from the flower. A better understanding of which flying creatures buzz best and how they do it could improve agriculture.