Study type: Medical/biological study (experimental study)

Mobile phone-induced honeybee worker piping med./bio.

By: Favre D
Published in: Apidologie 2011; 42 (3): 270-279
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Aim of study (acc. to author)

To study the effects of mobile phone exposure on honeybee behavior and to establish simple methodology to enable other beekeepers to reproduce the experiments.

Background/further details

In natural conditions, worker piping either announces the swarming process of the bee colony or is a signal of a disturbed bee colony.
Sound recordings were performed in five different hives througout the assay period starting in early Februrary and ending in June 2009. Eight negative control experiments with inactive mobile phones were performed, ten experiments with mobile phones in standby mode and twelve experiments with active mobile phones.

Endpoint

Exposure

Exposure Parameters
Exposure 1: 900 MHz
Exposure duration: continuous for 45 min - 20 h
  • SAR: 0.271 W/kg
  • SAR: 0.62 W/kg
  • SAR: 0.81 W/kg
  • SAR: 0.98 W/kg

Exposure 1

Main characteristics
Frequency 900 MHz
Type
Exposure duration continuous for 45 min - 20 h
Exposure setup
Exposure source
Setup two mobile phone handsets randomly chosen out of 4 available handsets; phones placed on opposite sides at the top of the beehive; phone during exposure one phone in talking mode, the other in listening mode; there were two control groups: i) mobile phone turned off; ii) mobile phone in stand-by mode
Parameters
Measurand Value Type Method Mass Remarks
SAR 0.271 W/kg - - - -
SAR 0.62 W/kg - - - -
SAR 0.81 W/kg - - - -
SAR 0.98 W/kg - - - -

Exposed system:

Methods Endpoint/measurement parameters/methodology

Investigated system:
Time of investigation:
  • during exposure
  • after exposure

Main outcome of study (acc. to author)

The data revealed that active mobile phone handsets have a dramatic impact on the behavior of the bees, namely by inducing the worker piping signal which was observed about 25 to 40 minutes after the onset of the mobile phone communication.

Study character:

Study funded by

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