Cellphones Could Be Killing Bees [STUDY]

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The disappearance of bees is a serious issue, since they pollinate many of world's agricultural crops. So far, scientists haven't been able to pinpoint the exact causes of the syndrome, leading to the theory that several issues are reducing the bee population.

A recent study, conducted by Daniel Favre at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, sheds more light on the issue by showing that cellphone signals are seriously affecting -- or even killing -- bees. To conduct the study, Favre tested honeybees' reactions to nearby cellphones in different modes: off, standby and making a call.

"The results of the present pilot study clearly show that the presence of actively communicating mobile phone handsets in the close vicinity of honeybees had a dramatic effect," Favre says in his report. "Honeybees are sensitive to pulsed electromagnetic fields generated by the mobile telephones." In other words, the cellphone signals confuse bees to the point where they leave the hive and don't return.

Of course, once could argue that the cellphones are — generally speaking — far away from bee populations, which makes the devices an unlikely cause for their deaths.

"Phones are not present in the close vicinity of honeybees in real life," Favre concludes in his report. "This study provides elements for the establishment of further experiments involving such apparatus placed at increasing distances from the bees."

The entire report in PDF format is available here.