Informace o publikaci
Queens Lost in Broadcast: Weak broadband RF threatens the fate of honeybee queens
| Autoři | |
|---|---|
| Rok publikování | 2026 |
| Druh | Konferenční abstrakty |
| Fakulta / Pracoviště MU | |
| Citace | |
| Popis | The ability of the honeybee to use the geomagnetic field for orientation and navigation has been studied for many decades. Although the magnetite-based reception mechanism is generally accepted for bees, the mode of reception remains unresolved. In different species, the magnetic orientation has been shown to be disrupted by electromagnetic radiofrequency field (RF), which points rather to an alternative reception mechanism based on radical pairs. To test these two theories, we exposed mating hives to RF (broadband 0.1–200 MHz) to study the effects on queen return success to hive after mating in a five-season field study. Colonies under RF had a 52% lower chance of producing a young, egg-laying queen in comparison with controls (N = 349, Pearson's Chi-square test, p = 0.004), especially later in the season (Odds Ratio, p = 0.04). These results suggest that RF noise disrupts honeybee orientation, supporting a radical-pair–based magnetoreception mechanism. Funding: Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, QL24010241 |