Cell Phones May Wipe Out World's Bee Population

Scientists claim that radiation from cell phones could be responsible for the mysterious collapse of many bee colonies. Like a B-grade horror movie, it has even been suggested that our dependence on cell phones could inadvertently cause massive food shortages by causing world's crops to fail. Crops are largely dependant on pollination by bees. Albert Einstein once said that if the bees disappeared, "man would have only four years of life left".

Beekeepers say that bees’ colonies are disappearing from the US to Europe in one of the most bizarre mysteries ever to happen in the natural world. Implications of the spread are alarming. One of the most convincing theories for the bee disappearance is that the radiation from cell phones can interfere with bees' navigation systems, preventing them from finding their way back to their hives. There is scientific evidence to back this up.

German research has long shown that bees' behavior changes near power lines. Now a limited study at Landau University has found that bees do not to return to their hives when mobile phones are placed nearby. Dr Jochen Kuhn, who carried out the study, confirmed this could be a possible cause of the beehive collapses.

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) is what scientists call the occurrence of a hive’s disappearance. Usually only queens, eggs and a few immature workers are left behind. The vanished bees are never found, but thought to die individually, lost far from the hive. Another bizarre twist is that parasites, wildlife and other bees that normally raid the honey and pollen left behind when a colony dies, refuse to go anywhere near the abandoned hives.

The West Coast has lost over 60 percent of its commercial bee population, and 70 percent of the population is now missing on the East Coast. It phenomenon seemed to start last autumn, and has now hit half of all American states. CCD has also spread from Germany all the way down to Greece.

No one knows for sure why it is happening, however the proposed theories involving mites, pesticides, global warming and GM crops all have drawbacks, that the cell phone conclusion does not share. However, many question remain unanswered and more research is needed to conclusively determine the true cause.

Posted by Rebecca Sato

Comments

[Van King]

Cell phones are not new. What has changed? Are there new frequencies in use? Is it a matter of cell phone signal density? The problem should be one of gradually increasing effect if cell phones were the cause. What of bees in non-USA/European areas where cell phone signal density is high? Are bees declining in USA/European areas where cell phone signal density is low?

[Chris]

It is because all the migrant farm workers are using their cell phones to call their stock brokers....ridiculous

[cell phones for seniors]

That's terrible! If the bee's die out where will we get honey?