Reports of such a colony collapse in nature in develop-
ing countries like India where electromagnetic radiation
(EMR) based technologies are comparatively new are
absent. It is possible that the electrosmog that prevails in
the advanced countries of the world has not yet affected
these countries. We are fortunate that the warning bells
have been sounded and it is for us to timely plan strate-
gies to save not only the bees but life from the ill effects
of such EMR.
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 98, NO. 10, 25 MAY 2010 1376
*For correspondence. (e-mail: neelimark@yahoo.co.in)
Changes in honeybee behaviour and
biology under the influence of
cellphone radiations
Ved Parkash Sharma1 and Neelima R. Kumar2,*
1
Department of Environment and Vocational Studies, and
2
Department of Zoology, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160 014, India
Increase in the usage of electronic gadgets has led to
electropollution of the environment. Honeybee behav-
iour 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 honey-
bee colonies. The reason is still not clear. We have
compared the performance of honeybees in cellphone
radiation exposed and unexposed colonies. A signifi-
cant (p < 0.05) decline in colony strength and in the
egg laying rate of the queen was observed. The behav-
iour of exposed foragers was negatively influenced by
the exposure, there was neither honey nor pollen in
the colony at the end of the experiment.
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