Bees Communicate With Electric Fields 133
sciencehabit writes "The electric fields that build up on honey bees as they fly, flutter their wings, or rub body parts together may allow the insects to talk to each other, a new study suggests. Tests show that the electric fields, which can be quite strong, deflect the bees' antennae, which, in turn, provide signals to the brain through specialized organs at their bases. Antenna deflections induced by an electrically charged honey bee wing are about 10 times the size of those that would be caused by airflow from the wing fluttering at the same distance—a sign that electrical fields could be an important signal."
Re:Unexplained Collapses??? (Score:5, Informative)
Unexplained? We've had several stories about bees and pesticides, including just today: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-21958547 [bbc.co.uk].
It's only unexplained if you think there's something more sinister at work than common poison.
Italy bans bee killing pesticide, Bees recover (Score:2, Informative)
http://www.enn.com/wildlife/article/38233
"The Italian government banned the use of several neonicotinoid pesticides that are blamed for the deaths of millions of honeybees. The Ministero del Lavoro della Salute e delle Politiche Sociali issued an immediate suspension of the seed treatment products clothianidin, imidacloprid, fipronil and thiamethoxam used in rapeseed oil, sunflowers and sweetcorn. The Italian government will start a monitoring program to further investigate the reasons of recent bee deaths."
Where the ban has been in place, Bee collony collapses are dramatically reduced. So no, it's the bug killer that kills the bugs. Who'd have thunk it!
Re:Unexplained Collapses??? (Score:5, Informative)
Everything suggests that EM hypersensitivity does not exist. Not one person suffering from it has been able to prove that he could, directly or indirectly, sense an electric or magnetic field of any magnitude.
If you have the supernatural ability you state to possess, please demonstrate it for science. This will benefit society greatly.