Mobile phone-induced honeybee worker piping

By Daniel Favre, biologist and apiary adviser

The worldwide maintenance of the honeybee has major ecological, economic, and political implications. In the present study, electromagnetic waves originating from mobile phones were tested for potential effects on honeybee behavior. Mobile phone handsets were placed in the close vicinity of honeybees. The sound made by the bees was recorded and analyzed. The audiograms and spectrograms revealed that 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.

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1 comment:

Daniel Favre said...

Statement from Daniel Favre, biologist and apiary adviser
and concerning his scientific article entitled “Mobile phone-induced honeybee worker piping”
Apidologie, DOI: 10.1007/s13592-011-0016-x
http://www.springerlink.com/content/bx23551862212177/fulltext.pdf
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“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. ”
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Thank you very much
D. Favre