"Honey bee populations around the world are in decline due to causes ranging from 'super mites' to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and even cell phones - and if the insects disappear completely the planet's ecosystems would be in peril. The issue has become so dire that now a team of Harvard and Northeastern University scientists are working on a swarm of miniature Robobee robots that could pollinate flowers and do the job of real bees if required. . . .

Posted comment for this article: "This is so illogical, impractical, immoral... so the bees go missing because of the phones and spraying, then the humans go missing, will a robohuman be the scientific report?"

Story at-a-glance

• A new 30-year study from the University of Bristol in England has revealed that bees and flowers share a symbiotic relationship based on the electric currents each emits. This affects not only the pollination and proliferation of the plants, but also the nourishment of the bees and the hives. 

• Bees not only can sense the negative charge coming from flowers using color, shape, pattern and humidity, but are able to change the electrical charge to tell which ones contain nectar and if another bee has beat them to it. 

• Bees worldwide are threatened by a number of ecological and environmental factors, such as pesticides, fungi, GMOs and cell phone networks. 

• The world's food supply is threatened because bees and the way they pollinate and carry food to their hives is threatened. . . .

"Plants and bees have a symbiotic relationship. Flowering plants depend on an outside source to 'spread the love' through pollination, and bees are happy to fill that need, receiving nectar (which they convert into honey) for the service they provide.

"But how do bees manage to be so efficient in their quest for nectar? And is it true this delicately balanced relationship is under threat?

"Scientists at Britain's University of Bristol have spent 30 years trying to figure out exactly how bees know which flowers will give them the most bang for their buck, so to speak. The recent discovery is that bees and flowers participate in a mutually beneficial electromagnetism1 that results not only in the pollination and proliferation of the plants, but the nourishment of the bees and the hives they call home.

"Research reveals that bees rely on an array of visual and sensory clues such as humidity level, shape, pattern and color to discern whether flowers have something to offer. In fact, it is known that bees have three times the color recognition ability of humans, but the electrical aspect, and the fact that it can last up to a few hours is new information.

• Electrical Allure: Bees Can Tell Which Flowers Spark the Most Interest 
• As Old as Time, the 'Animal Magnetism' Between Bees and Flowers is Threatened with Ecological Disaster 
• More Than Honey - Bees Deliver Amazing Therapeutic Properties 
• Pesticides are Killing More Than Bees - They're Killing Humans

" . . . While there is much information and misinformation on the effects of the high-frequency pulse on the health of humans, there is little research into the effect on small wildlife such as birds. The meters operate at a frequency similar to cell phones and other portable communications devices and while some minor health effects have been reported, such as problems sleeping or dizziness or nausea, the meters are generally considered safe for humans.

"Ouellette said he thinks the city's meters may be different somehow, as the power and gas meters in the neighborhood were also fitted with smart meters last year and they did not seem to have an effect on the neighborhood's wildlife.

"But since the city's have gone on, he and Chase both said the change was obvious and immediate. . . .

Introduction
Charges on the body of an individual bee and on the colony

Environmental Influences

• Electric Field 
• Atmospheric Ions 
• Humidity and Temperature 
• Light Irradiation  

Changes in Behaviour brought about by electric parameters 
Mechanics of these effects 
Weather sensitivity of bees
Electrocommunication
Electronavigation
References

OTHER STUDIES ABOUT BEES AND ELECTROMAGNETIC EFFECTS

This collection contains links to 78 studies and articles involving bees, electromagnetism and Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) from 1973 to 2008.

"A court in Zutphen, Netherlands has annulled a permit for a UMTS antenna due to beekeeping activities in the area. The Winterswijk municipality gave KPN the permit to build the tower in November 2010. Five local residents filed an appeal against the permit, and the court found that the city did not motivate its decision well enough to show there would be no negative consequences from the cell site. One of the residents keeps bees around 80m from the proposed site; in the appeal against the site, he pointed to research in Germany and Switzerland on the effects of electromagnetic radiation on bees. The city pointed to other research showing bee deaths related to other factors and said the radiation in this case would be much less than in the German research. However the court found that the city needed to provide more concrete sources of research to sustain its argument and it could not be ruled out that the site would have an effect on the bees . . .

"Known for their beauty, aspens have been in decline across North America, with some dramatic losses in recent years. Aware of the rapid growth of radiofrequency (RF) radiation, particularly from mobile-phone 'towers', Colorado researcher Katie Haggerty had an inspiration: she planted three test plots of aspen seedlings. Carefully matched in all other respects, one plot was shielded from a nearby town's RF radiation, one was 'mock' shielded, and the other was left unprotected. The difference, recorded in the International Journal of Forestry Research, was startling: the fully shielded saplings were vigorous and healthy, but both the 'mock' shielded and the exposed plants were small, lacked pigments, and had sickly leaves.

"Such studies are but whispers on the wind compared to the billion-pound clamour of marketing campaigns telling us: "You must have smartphones!" (Must we?) "You can't live without them!" (Really?) . . .

"The varroa mite is already threatening bees in New Zealand, and some beekeepers believe a new threat might be about to make things much worse.

"Auckland beekeeper Kerry McCurdy has over 300 [hives], and says his bees are dying at an alarming rate from what he believes is colony collapse disorder.

"We lost 40 hives out of 50, so we have 10 live hives left out of 50. We tested five of those yesterday with Agrisure, and of the five each had an individual problem," he says.

"We may or may not have colony collapse disorder, but we do have serious issues."

"Mr McCurdy says cellphone wavelengths are also proving damaging for bees."

Effects of Wireless Communication Technologies

Brochure 1 of a brochure series by the Competence Initiative for the Protection of Humanity, Environment and Democracy

1. The organisation of life underlying its vulnerability  Pages 5 to 8
2. About the disappearing bees and birds Pages 9 and 10
3. Mechanisms of disorientation and damage Pages 10 and 11
4. Humans suffer functionality disorders  Pages 30 to 36
5. Summary, Scientific Literature, Summary 37 to 41
6. Glossary Page 42  
7. Order Information and references

About the Author
The main fields of activity of Dr. rer. nat. Ulrich Warnke, and internationally renowned bio-scientist of the University of the Saarlan, are in bio-medicine, environmental medicine and bio-physics. His research has, for many decades, focused especially on the effect of electromagnetic fields. 

"A first in Belgium: Studies conducted at the Universite Libre de Bruxelles show clearly that GSM waves affect the memory and response to pheromones in ant colonies, and that they worsen the motility of cell membranes of protozoa."

Brussels - 11/07/12

"Hide this truth that I would not like to see ... Anything to discredit these alarmist studies which prevent me from calling in peace. Reassure me. Tell me that all this is exaggerated and doesn't concern me ... - Such is the substance of the unspoken reaction of each person who continues to not want to face up to reality and refuses to take into account the progress of independent research . . .

Original in French