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View Full Version : Mobile phones responsible for disappearance of honey bee




lynnf
05-30-2010, 04:45 AM
a lot of food crops need pollination by bees, so which would you rather do,
eat or phone? could cramp your political activity!


(story does point out the conclusion is in dispute)


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/7778401/Mobile-phones-responsible-for-disappearance-of-honey-bee.html

...

Ved Prakash Sharma and Neelima Kumar, the authors of the report in the journal Current Science, wrote: "Increase in the usage of electronic gadgets has led to electropollution of the environment. Honeybee behaviour and biology has been affected by electrosmog since these insects have magnetite in their bodies which helps them in navigation.

"There are reports of sudden disappearance of bee populations from honeybee colonies. The reason is still not clear. We have compared the performance of honeybees in cellphone radiation exposed and unexposed colonies.

"A significant decline in colony strength and in the egg laying rate of the queen was observed. The behaviour of exposed foragers was negatively influenced by the exposure, there was neither honey nor pollen in the colony at the end of the experiment."
....

dannno
05-30-2010, 05:28 AM
weird

Bruno
05-30-2010, 06:30 AM
That would be very strange. I just heard a report the other day that country bee colonies are doing better than city bee colonies, which would seem to contradict this report due to the larger number of cell phones in urban areas.

catdd
05-30-2010, 08:04 AM
"electro-smog"

It doesn't seem to bother any other insects that I can tell.

CasualApathy
05-30-2010, 08:26 AM
Bee one: "I sense a disturbance in the force..."

Bee two: "I sense it too"

Bee one: "I keep getting visions of short messages floating through the sky"

Bee two: "I know, listen to this one: 'Mom, left my underwear in the sink and forgot about it, don't be alarmed! be back in 20, Jacob'"

Bee one: "Yea... and how about this one: 'Hey Sandy, umm.. when you had that case of the fungus in your... well you know... did it smell really bad?! I think i might have it too T.T - Mel'"

Bee two: "Uggh... yea - they sure do take away your appetite."

MelissaWV
05-30-2010, 08:41 AM
There is something funny about seeing this as I am treating two bee stings at the moment. I'm guessing I just killed two more bees.

My bad.

CasualApathy
05-30-2010, 08:47 AM
There is something funny about seeing this as I am treating two bee stings at the moment. I'm guessing I just killed two more bees.

My bad.

Aww.. you poor thing.

I personally hate bees, they are vicious killing machines as far as i am concerned.

I mean, just look at them. They swarm around pretending to be baffled by something as simple as a window, but in truth they are just biding time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Look away for a second and they will jam their stinger right into your neck with glee.

Icymudpuppy
05-30-2010, 08:53 AM
Don't confuse honey bees and wasps, M and C.

fatjohn
05-30-2010, 08:56 AM
due to the larger number of cell phones in urban areas.

:confused: Maybe per capita, but surely not just in sheer numbers.

Ninja Homer
05-30-2010, 08:57 AM
There is something funny about seeing this as I am treating two bee stings at the moment. I'm guessing I just killed two more bees.

My bad.

If it's any consolation, it probably wasn't honey bees that stung you... they rarely sting unless their hive is threatened.

CasualApathy
05-30-2010, 09:03 AM
Don't confuse honey bees and wasps, M and C.

Well, wasps are just a whole nother level of evil, I got mauled by about 20 of them when i was like 5 years old climbing a tree. To this day I still make a point of killing them on sight - damn bastards!

Take that, spawn of satan! *Smack!*
Oh no no, don't you try to run away *smack!* *smack!*
Got you now, nowhere to run little one *splat*
Yea thats right - that was for november 5th 1990, bitch. :p

EDIT: I realise I am kind of off topic, sorry about that.

MelissaWV
05-30-2010, 09:05 AM
If it's any consolation, it probably wasn't honey bees that stung you... they rarely sting unless their hive is threatened.

I love the posts that pretend I have no idea what honeybees look like....

I'm in a new area, and I got too close to a thriving hive in a wooded area. It didn't look like there was any shortage of bees there.

aravoth
05-30-2010, 09:11 AM
I know a bee keeper, friend of the family, he lost over half of his hives through the winter. He said loosing a few during the colder months is normal, but over half was not. He also said that others have lost more, and that it was a phenomenon happening worldwide.

teamrican1
05-30-2010, 09:18 AM
Wasps and Hornets don't behave all that different than Honey Bees in terms of stinging. Just don't go near their hive or mess with them and they'll leave you alone. Freaking out is what gets you stung. If you just let a bee land on you, he'll crawl around for a few seconds, figure out that you aren't food, and fly away. I've lived around bees my whole life and only been stung once when I stepped on a bee while running barefoot in the grass.

HamsomeGuy
05-30-2010, 09:46 AM
I hate bees. They're assholes. I run from them. I am grown man. I'm scare.

They chase me when I take my smoke breaks at work. Jerks.

Jordan
05-30-2010, 09:53 AM
It takes 12 bees their whole lifetime to make just one tablespoon of honey.

furface
05-30-2010, 09:55 AM
Excellent example of environmental commons. If the connection turns out to be true, there will be legitimate talk of banning mobile phones and other sources of EM pollution.

The right to a clean environment is an extension of the fundamental right of property. Nobody has the right to pollute my property without compensating me.

Meatwasp
05-30-2010, 10:17 AM
Well, wasps are just a whole nother level of evil, I got mauled by about 20 of them when i was like 5 years old climbing a tree. To this day I still make a point of killing them on sight - damn bastards!

Take that, spawn of satan! *Smack!*
Oh no no, don't you try to run away *smack!* *smack!*
Got you now, nowhere to run little one *splat*
Yea thats right - that was for november 5th 1990, bitch. :p

EDIT: I realise I am kind of off topic, sorry about that.

Oh no don't kill me.
Meatwasp

MelissaWV
05-30-2010, 10:20 AM
Oh no don't kill me.
Meatwasp

Stay away from the light...

http://www.trapawasp.co.uk/images/indoor_wasp_and_flying_insect_killer_large.jpg

idirtify
05-30-2010, 10:20 AM
Excellent example of environmental commons. If the connection turns out to be true, there will be legitimate talk of banning mobile phones and other sources of EM pollution.

The right to a clean environment is an extension of the fundamental right of property. Nobody has the right to pollute my property without compensating me.

good point.

specsaregood
05-30-2010, 10:22 AM
I mean, just look at them. They swarm around pretending to be baffled by something as simple as a window, but in truth they are just biding time, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. Look away for a second and they will jam their stinger right into your neck with glee.

Yup don't underestimate them. One of the few species where it has been proven they have a "language" of sorts....http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waggle_dance

idirtify
05-30-2010, 10:22 AM
I’ve been hearing about the bee decline for a couple decades it seems. So far I’ve heard three speculations on why. First it was mites that were infecting the hives. Next it was genetically modified crops. Now it’s cell phones.

CasualApathy
05-30-2010, 10:27 AM
Oh no don't kill me.
Meatwasp

Alright, if I ever see a wasp flying around with a piece of meat I promise I won't kill it. Fair enough? :)

catdd
05-30-2010, 10:37 AM
I love honey bees. I can only say that for a few species of insects, mostly I hate them.

rancher89
05-30-2010, 11:10 AM
http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=222161&highlight=bees

TheFlashlight.org
05-30-2010, 11:18 AM
Thought I'd pass along a recent conversation in a honey store. Asked the owners about the bee colony decline and they said they haven't noticed anything, and that none of their clients have either (they sell hive equipment too). They said that it seems to only be affecting the mass agriculture farms, but not the little guys, and it's kinda weird that no one is reporting that. They thought that perhaps it's due to the decreasing nutrients on the big ag farms caused by the high production techniques that don't give the plant enough time to absorb a lot of nutrients from the overfarmed soil, and or pesticides.

Anyway, I was really surprised about this information. From what I'd read, there was this looming disaster in bees that no one could figure out, and then these people who are deep into the bee business say that everything's fine.

lynnf
05-30-2010, 11:39 AM
"electro-smog"

It doesn't seem to bother any other insects that I can tell.


you probably wouldn't know about the bees if the scientists hadn't published reports about the colony collapse. what about fireflies (aka ligntening bugs)? maybe you haven't noticed their decline in your area but around here they're practically gone when the place used to be thick with them.

maybe it's just that you don't notice, not that there isn't a problem.

lynn

TheFlashlight.org
05-30-2010, 11:47 AM
There doesn't appear to be an obvious seasonal factor in em radiation. It's not like people use cell phones more in Winter. On the other hand, if the bees are malnourished from low nutrient big ag farms, then Winter would be the most susceptible time for them.

Brian4Liberty
05-30-2010, 12:21 PM
Alright, if I ever see a wasp flying around with a piece of meat I promise I won't kill it. Fair enough? :)

Hornets love meat. And eggs. When cooking or eating in the outdoors, you have to be careful not to eat them. It is funny to see a hornet cut off a piece of scrambled egg the same size as it, and not be able to take off. They kind of drag it around in circles but can't get air-born. Greedy buggers.

Meatwasp
05-30-2010, 12:37 PM
Alright, if I ever see a wasp flying around with a piece of meat I promise I won't kill it. Fair enough? :)

Thank you dear heart.