Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Cell Phones and Bees! OMG!!

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (1/22-2007 thru 12/14/2010) Donate to DU
 
xultar Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:11 PM
Original message
Cell Phones and Bees! OMG!!


In a study at Panjab University in Chandigarh, northern India, researchers fitted cell phones to a hive and powered them up for two fifteen-minute periods each day.

After three months, they found the bees stopped producing honey, egg production by the queen bee halved, and the size of the hive dramatically reduced.

http://bit.ly/d2yKwo
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
DJ13 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:13 PM
Response to Original message
1. They probably wouldnt stop talking on the phone like several people I know
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
yellerpup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:13 PM
Response to Original message
2. Important news.
:kick: & R
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
BrklynLiberal Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:15 PM
Response to Original message
3. There might be the answer to that hive collapse problem we are having....
Edited on Wed Jun-30-10 12:15 PM by BrklynLiberal
;)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
eowyn_of_rohan Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:25 PM
Response to Reply #3
9. Very interesting...and Monsanto has a LOT to do with it too
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
sufrommich Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:16 PM
Response to Original message
4. That's what unlimited texting will get you. lol.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
BurtWorm Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:18 PM
Response to Reply #4
5. If they were iPhones, I can assure you it's because they were too busy playing Air Hockey
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
New Earth Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:18 PM
Response to Original message
6. I'm definitely not a fan of bees
but it's quite sad that we really do seem to kill everything!
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
RKP5637 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:24 PM
Response to Reply #6
8. Curious why you're not a fan of bees... thanks. n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
tabbycat31 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 01:11 PM
Response to Reply #8
18. I understand their impact on everything
but personally I'm deathly allergic to bee stings and am terribly afraid of them. If I get stung I will be hospitalized (and I have no insurance). So that's my selfish reason for not liking bees.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
RKP5637 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 01:15 PM
Response to Reply #18
21. Hi, thanks. I was just curious, well, nosy. Thanks!
:hi: :hi: :hi:
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Mnemosyne Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 08:23 PM
Response to Reply #18
28. Are you New Earth or tabbycat31? Thanks! n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
hlthe2b Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:42 PM
Response to Reply #6
13. I'm quite the fan of bees, given that much of the world may starve
--literally starve--without them...
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
jp11 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:50 PM
Response to Reply #6
15. Bees are cool.
Edited on Wed Jun-30-10 12:50 PM by jp11
Bees play an important role in pollinating flowering plants, and are the major type of pollinator in ecosystems that contain flowering plants. Bees either focus on gathering nectar or on gathering pollen depending on demand, especially in social species. Bees gathering nectar may accomplish pollination, but bees that are deliberately gathering pollen are more efficient pollinators. It is estimated that one third of the human food supply depends on insect pollination, most of which is accomplished by bees, especially the domesticated European honey bee. Contract pollination has overtaken the role of honey production for beekeepers in many countries. Monoculture and the massive decline of many bee species (both wild and domesticated) have increasingly caused honey bee keepers to become migratory so that bees can be concentrated in seasonally varying high-demand areas of pollination.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bee#Pollination

Though if you have allergies that can suck.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Statistical Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:53 PM
Response to Reply #6
16. No bees = death of mankind. I am a fan of bees given I want to see human race survive. n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
mike_c Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 01:15 PM
Response to Reply #16
20. that's ridiculous hyperbole AND IT ISN'T TRUE....
Come on. All human staple crops are wind pollinated.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Statistical Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 01:34 PM
Response to Reply #20
22. Human race can't survive on grains & starches alone.
Vegtables & Fruits are essential for vitamin, minerals, and overall good health, disease resistance.

Just some of the crops which rely upon bees for pollination:
Okra, Kiwifruit, Bucket orchid, Onion, Cashew, Atemoya, Cherimoya, Custard apple, Celery, Strawberry tree, Pawpaw, Carambola, Starfruit, Brazil nut, Beet, Mustard, Rapeseed, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Cabbage, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, Turnip, Canola, Pigeon pea, Cajan pea, Congo bean, Jack bean, Horse bean, Sword bean, Chile pepper, Red pepper, Bell pepper, Green pepper, Papaya, Safflower, Caraway, Chestnut, Star apple, Cainito, Watermelon, Tangerine, Tangelo,
Coconut, Coffea spp. Coffea arabica, Coffea canephora, Cola nut, Coriander, Crownvetch, Hazelnut, Azarole, Cantaloupe, Melon, Cucumber, Squash (plant), Pumpkin, Gourd, Marrow, Zuchini, Guar bean, Goa bean, Quince, Lemon, Lime, Carrot,
Hyacinth bean, Longan, Persimmon, Durian, Oil palm, Cardamom, Loquat, Buckwheat, Feijoa, fig, Fennel, Strawberry, Soybean
Stanhopea, Cotton, Sunflower, Walnut, Flax, Lychee, Lupine, Macadamia, Acerola, Apple, Mammee, Mango, Sapodilla, Alfalfa
Rambutan, Cactus, Prickly pear, Sainfoin, Passion fruit. Maracuja, Avocado, Lima bean, Kidney bean, Haricot bean, Adzuki bean, Mungo bean, String bean, Scarlet runner bean, Allspice, Apricot, Sweet Cherry, Sour cherry, Plum, Greengage, Mirabelle, Sloe, Almond, Peach, Nectarine, Guava, Pomegranate, Pear, Black currant, Red currant, Rose hips, Dogroses
Boysenberry, Raspberry, Blackberry, Elderberry, Sesame, Eggplant, Naranjillo, Rowanberry, Service Tree, Hog plum,
Tamarind, Cocoa, Clover (not all species), White clover, Alsike clover, Crimson clover, Red clover, Arrowleaf clover,
Blueberry, Cranberry, Vanilla, Tung tree, Broad bean, Vetch, Cowpea, Black-eyed pea, Blackeye bean, Karite, Tomato Bumble bees fruit, Grape, Jujube
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
mike_c Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 03:46 PM
Response to Reply #22
25. many, if not most of those crops can be pollinated by native pollinators....
Seriously-- the worst impact of loss of commercial pollination services is likely to be to the bee-keeping industry, not to human food supply or to natural pollination services.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
SunnySong Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 08:28 PM
Response to Reply #20
29. Shh your using facts again. nt
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
RKP5637 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:23 PM
Response to Original message
7. Thanks for posting this!!! n/t
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Davis_X_Machina Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:26 PM
Response to Original message
10. There is no inverse-square law in the Punjab?
Or are there cellphones that close to all the collapsing hives observed?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
slutticus Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:29 PM
Response to Original message
11. Not sure about this study.
They had an appropriate control group (A "blank" colony with a dummy cellphone and a control with no cellphone), but in the results section they do not compare the results between all three groups (Blank, Control and Test), they only compare between Control and Test. You need to compare all three to minimize potential bias. Also, they are not entirely clear on their methods of replication or randomization.

You can read the paper here:

http://www.ias.ac.in/currsci/25may2010/1376.pdf


Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
mike_c Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:36 PM
Response to Original message
12. this story is already being ridiculed on Entomo-L, the entomology listserve....
It's just more bad science journalism.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
hlthe2b Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 12:44 PM
Response to Reply #12
14. Yes... I believe it has been studied in an actually scientific manner
Edited on Wed Jun-30-10 12:45 PM by hlthe2b
and ruled out as related to colony collapse. This 6th grade level "science experiment" ought to have stimulated a bit more study (and research on the part of the reporters).
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Stevenmarc Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 01:00 PM
Response to Original message
17. Of course production stopped they're all tweeting and updating their blogs
Edited on Wed Jun-30-10 02:00 PM by Stevenmarc
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
mike_c Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 01:14 PM
Response to Original message
19. here's some of the ridicule being expressed about this "study...."
This is cut and pasted from a post on Entomol-L just a few minutes ago:

I find it hard to imagine that this is an appropriate experimental design if one wishes to understand how radio emissions affect bees in the wild. Do these folks not understand how intensity drops off with distance? "The dose makes the poison"?? In plain fact, since their "control" hives were not being actively *shielded* from EM emissions, they were not actual controls, but simply a lower treatment level. Maybe we should ask these researchers if they think it would be appropriate to have THEM sit on top of a cell phone base station for 12 hours a day for a few months to see if it has any effect on *human* health? I'll bet they could suddenly come up with a lot of reasonable arguments why NOT to do so - the same arguments that apply to doing this with bees. About all they can conclude from this study is that it might be bad to put cell phones inside bee hives. That has nothing whatsoever to do with CCD, and it's irresponsible for them to claim otherwise.

As an additional point, I'm not so sure it's entirely fair to describe the use of magnetic fields by honeybees as if that was how they navigate. Honeybees use landmarks to navigate, but when they are learning landmarks, they conceptually "map" them using the magnetic field for orientation. To quote one of the studies of this phenomenon: "Taken together, these results suggest that these insects place retinotopically localized memories in Earth-based coordinates. We report here that honeybees accomplish this very simply: when learning about or searching for a goal, they face consistently in one compass direction, aided by the Earth's magnetic field. We suggest that the main benefit of inspecting the world from one favoured direction is to simplify the storage and retrieval of retinotopic memories." That's a subtle distinction, but important. Screwing with a honeybee's magnetic senses (assuming that radio waves can *have* such an effect) should have minimal impact if the bee is flying over familiar landscape.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Evasporque Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 01:34 PM
Response to Original message
23. Bees should not have cell phones.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Statistical Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 02:04 PM
Response to Reply #23
24. Humans should not have cellphones either.
:)

(Well maybe for emergencies.)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
HiFructosePronSyrup Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 03:49 PM
Response to Reply #24
26. Humans should not live near forests, lakes, and the desert.
Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, and Chupacabra, respectively.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Codeine Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Wed Jun-30-10 03:52 PM
Response to Original message
27. That's about as far from "science" as anything I've ever seen.
As long as the bees don't have an unlimited family plan they'll be fine.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
mdmc Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Jul-05-10 08:46 AM
Response to Original message
30. 1
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
mdmc Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jul-09-10 03:56 PM
Response to Original message
31. 1
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Wed May 08th 2024, 12:14 AM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » Archives » General Discussion (1/22-2007 thru 12/14/2010) Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC