Mike Barrett
NaturalSociety
June 2, 2011
The bee population has suffered a dramatic decline over the past few years. As covered in a previous story, electromagnetic radiation, malnutrition, and climate have all been blamed for the decline. While these may be factors, along with bee-killing pesticides sprayed on crops, a new culprit has been established in aiding to the bee decline.
Research conducted in Lausanne, Switzerland found that cell phone signals confuse and disorient bees, often leading to their death. Over 83 experiments paralleled the research conducted in Switzerland, concluding that cell phones at least have a negative impact.
The study, which was led by Daniel Favre, found that bees reacted erratically when active cell phones were placed near or in bee hives. Bees would become disoriented and confused instead of flying away from the device when it was either making or receiving a call.
When a cell phone is active, signals are being transmitted to and from the device. The unnatural, foreign frequency puts the bees in an abnormal state, many times leading to their death.
In addition, the electromagnetic fields generated by cell phones and other technologies are also leading to the bee decline.
Over the past 30 years the bee population within the U.S. and U.K. has been nearly cut in half. All life forms serve a purpose and bees are no exception to this rule. Bees produce honey and pollinate our crops. Bee pollination is crucial for the fertilization of many crops and also enables sexual reproduction of flowers.
