An experimental study on the effect of non-ionizing electromagnetic fields on honey bees

Abstract

Due to the increase in data rate in mobile communication and the widespread use of mobile internet, electromagnetic communication systems are increasing daily. This situation causes increases in the use of more mobile communication devices and environmental non-ionizing Electromagnetic Field (EMF) levels. The rise of bee deaths and colony losses in beekeeping parallel to the increase of the EMF sources cause the concept of “electromagnetic pollution” to be considered among the reasons. Therefore, studying the effects of non-ionizing Electromagnetic Radiation (EMR) on the health of living things is one of the most significant issues today. The bees determine their direction with the Earth’s magnetic field. Electromagnetic signals emitted by GSM base stations, etc. may affect the direction-finding capabilities of honey bees and constitute a stress factor. In this study, the aim was to determine the effect of EMF on honey bees and honey yield. Honey bee colonies were used, obtained from the same farm in the Trabzon region, and equalized in all respects. Moreover, these colonies were divided into five groups randomly as experiments and control groups. The experiment hives were exposed to the EMF in the frequency band of the Wi-Fi signals (2.4 GHz) and the high-voltage line (50 hz). The control hives are located far away from the EMR sources. The study was repeated in the second year to confirm the results. During the investigation, some physiological and behavioural effects of bees, such as aggressiveness, brood area, etc. were determined based on EMR exposure.