Electromagnetic fields from power lines are messing with honeybees

Similar to transmission towers that support overhead power lines that transport power from energy facilities to cities, the electromagnetic fields emitted by transmission towers interfere with the pollination ability of bees. This disruption could also have significant impacts on the biodiversity of these environments.

Bees often rely on natural electromagnetic fields (EMF) to navigate their surroundings. Bees have a special magnetic reception system in their abdomen. Exposure to man-made electromagnetic waves can cause honeybees to become disoriented, possibly getting lost on their way home from foraging, and sometimes not having enough foragers to survive an entire colony. An increasing number of studies suggest that

Gabriel Ballesteros of Chile’s University of Talca and his colleagues exposed 100 bees (European honey bee) in the laboratory for three minutes at a time to various levels of high voltage, low frequency EMF. Compared to bees exposed to low levels, bees exposed to more intense electromagnetic waves produced approximately 50% more heat shock proteins, which are normally induced by high heat, and these molecules stimulate cells to respond to stress. Protect. The researchers also found significantly reduced expression levels of genes associated with foraging, memory formation and locomotion in bees.

The researchers also observed wild honeybees in Quina Mavida, Chile, comparing populations in areas with and without high-voltage towers. They found that the number of heat shock proteins doubled after just five minutes in selected bees that were near working power transmission towers. Bees near working high-voltage pylons also visited the surrounding California poppy plants (Exsolutia, California) occurs in only one-third of those who are not exposed to EMF.

“The bees were avoiding flowers near overhead lines,” says Ballesteros. “They flew towards the flowers, but then preferred to stay away.” Plant populations were also less diverse and more abundant in the same area, he says.

That may not be the whole picture, according to Henry Lai and his colleague B. Blake Levitt of the University of Washington in Seattle, who study the effects of electromagnetic waves on plants and animals. They say the study looked at only one type of EMF exposure in nature, but today it is rare to find an environment with a single source of EMF. For example, mobile phone antennas that emit high-frequency radiation may be mounted directly on high-voltage power pylons, so bees are often exposed to multiple frequencies. Even the radio waves from the researchers’ cell phones could affect them if they were in active call mode, and the researchers didn’t say whether there were cell towers nearby. . Levitt and Lai also noted that the study did not address whether the sites near the towers were tested for pesticides. Pesticides are commonly used to remove vegetation in such areas and can affect bees.