Add another suspect to the list of possible causes for plummeting honey bee populations: cell phones. Is it founded or just internet buzz?
Honey bees are vital for agriculture and the world's food supply. Researchers have investigated pathogens, climate, pesticides and several other possible culprits.
A study by Daniel Favre of Switzerland suggests electromagnetic fields could be causing bees to desert their hive dooming the queen and developing bees to short survival.
"In one experiment, it was found that when a mobile phone was kept near a beehive it resulted in a collapse of the colony in 5 to 10 days, with the worker bees failing to return home, leaving the hives with just queens, eggs, and hive-bound immature bees," writes Favre.
But don't get stung by the buzz of "Cell Phones Killing Bees" headlines buzzing across blogs worldwide. Even Favre admits the subject needs further study.
But for those ready to write off the suggestion, Favre responded to the report and comments from Fastcompany.com.
"Active mobile phone handsets have a dramatic impact on the behavior of the bees, namely by inducing the worker piping signal. In natural conditions, worker piping either announces the swarming process of the bee colony or is a signal of a disturbed bee colony. For future experiments, in complement to the present original study and in order to reach more 'natural' conditions, mobile phone apparatuses should be placed at various increasing distances away from the hives. We should ask ourselves, whether the plethora of mobile phone masts also have an impact on the behaviour of the honeybees. Among other factors such as the varroa mite and pesticides, signals from mobile phones and masts could be contributing to the decline of honeybees around the world. I am calling the international scientific community for more research in this field."
Matthew Fortner has been at The News & Observer since 2002. He has a passion for gadgets, cutting-edge technology and all things geek.
Comments
Wheeeee !
Wed, 05/18/2011 - 16:17 — AgentPierceMy faith has been restored in the enviro-whacko crowd. I hadn't seen one of these "Mother Nature vs Man-made Technology" goofball conspiracies in several months. These things seem to run in cycles so I suspect there will a few more popping up in the next month. Full-moons really bring'em out.
Yup. Sounds crazy and I am
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 07:48 — matthewfortner (author)Yup. Sounds crazy and I am skeptical. I love my cell phone, but I'd welcome more study on any effects of the technology could have. There are many and medical examples once considered safe that turned out ot be otherwise.
this is bad science
Wed, 05/18/2011 - 15:52 — hellbenderWhy on Earth are you perpetuating this, Matthew? This experiment is a really bad design, plain & simple.
This guy put two cell phones inside each "affected" bee hive that continually called one another. That creates a lot of heat inside a small enclosed space. Even without cell phone signals, this level of heat is known to elicit the same behavior in bees that Favre attributes to the cell phone signals. The phones that were on standby and turned "off" don't generate heat like this - hence the difference.
Clearly CCD occurs in areas without radio signal-emitting appliances. Poorly reasoned and designed studies like this do enough damage without being passed around as "news".
"But don't get stung by the
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 07:41 — matthewfortner (author)"But don't get stung by the buzz of "Cell Phones Killing Bees" headlines buzzing across blogs worldwide."
Bees and Cell Phones
Wed, 05/18/2011 - 12:59 — DurmDudeD@mn bees, we definitely need to have some laws in place banning pollinating while using a cell phone! I can't tell you the number of times I've nearly been stung by some stupid apian yaehoo buzzing along on a cell phone, not paying the least bit of attention! Its an outrage!
Is there an app for that in
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 07:42 — matthewfortner (author)Is there an app for that in the App store or in the Android Market?
Cell phones and bees
Wed, 05/18/2011 - 12:40 — whollarRe:
My favorite comment of the
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 07:49 — matthewfortner (author)My favorite comment of the month so far.
Look more closely
Wed, 05/18/2011 - 10:15 — lswilhelmThis headline is misleading at best and fear mongering at worst. And it's not until halfway into this article that the writer indicates there is still a question about any connection. The
Here's one Entomologist's view of this research. Google Bug Girl's Blog and the entry called "Bees, CCD and Cell Phones: Still no Link". (sorry, couldn't post a link). . ..... "
You are right. There is a
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 07:53 — matthewfortner (author)You are right. There is a better head line and there was a way to bump the skepticsm up since that was my inspiration. Maybe I released it from my jaws too soon.