Abstract

Overview

Urbanization and increased wireless technology usage escalate radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) emissions. These emissions, prevalent in urban settings due to dense clusters of wireless devices, are emerging as environmental contaminants that may distress bees and other flying insects.

Highlights

• RF-EMF exposure significantly diminishes homing success in honey bees.
• Notable impacts manifest primarily after prolonged exposure.
• No discernible effects on bee brood development or longevity were observed.

Experimental Setup

The study utilized high-quality radiation sources from the Communications Engineering Lab at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology to produce consistent and realistic electromagnetic radiation. Honey bees were exposed to 2.4 and 5.8 GHz frequencies to evaluate impacts on their brood development, longevity, and especially homing ability under field conditions.

Findings

Significantly, long-term exposure to RF-EMF hampered the homing ability of foraging honey bees. Comparisons between control and exposed groups showed a marked decrease in successful returns and increased time required for returns in exposed bees.

Conclusion

Though RF-EMF exposure does not lead to lethal effects, it acts as a sublethal stressor impairing the homing success of honey bees, which could lead to forager loss. This disorientation is specific to ongoing exposure to realistic field RF-EMF levels, akin to those used in Wi-Fi signals.

Understanding these sublethal effects on bee communication, learning, memory, and development remains critical, given the vulnerability of wild bee populations to these radiations.