Agriculturists are worried that the pollinator population is declining. The hunch is based on field surveys of wild bees and managed honeybee colonies.

More bee data, however, is needed to determine the extent of the insects’ population decline and the corresponding solutions to arrest the depopulation. University of Oregon associate professor Lauren Ponisio has launched a project to track bees on a Northern California cannabis farm for that purpose.

Ponisio’s method involves catching a sample of bees, identifying the species, taking a photo of each insect, and putting the data on a unique QR code for each bee, Fox News reported. The printed QR codes, cut to the size of a button, are then glued on each bee.

Twenty artificial intelligence-powered cameras developed by Oregon State University assistant professor Timothy Warren and his research group and installed throughout the farm will serve as the bee QR code scanner to track the pollinators, according to Fox News.

The method is more convenient and efficient than catching a bee with a net and examining it, which takes hours to complete.

Meanwhile, QR codes can spell relief for people in Japan.

Japanese women struggle with long queues for public toilets in train stations and other places. To help them find unoccupied restrooms, they can scan QR codes posted in public areas.

They will then be directed to a website linked by toilet maker Toto to existing internet-connected facility management systems for the purpose of reporting broken, untidy, or long-occupied public restrooms to alert cleaners and repairers.

The website shows restroom locations and congestion levels, according to Agence France-Presse.