Agricultural universities across the country are trying to study the impact of radiation from mobile phone towers on honeybees. Sixteen of the State agriculture universities have initiated studies to assess the impact of the radiation from the towers on honeybees as part of an all-India co-ordinated research project on honeybees and pollinators. The research programme is supported by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. The country-wide study comes in the wake of recent reports that “the increase in the usage of electronic gadgets has led to electro pollution of the environment.” There were also reports that “honeybee behaviour and biology have been affected by electrosmog since these insects have magnetite in their bodies which helps them in navigation.” Bee experts have also decried the experiments to evaluate bee behaviour by keeping cell phones inside beehives as such experiments “may not be appropriate with real environmental conditions.” The participating agencies will look for the effect of electromagnetic waves of mobile towers on colony development and behaviour of bees, said Stephen Devanesan, Professor, Department of Agricultural Entomology, College of Agriculture, Thiruvananthapuram. A recent study commissioned by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest on the possible impact of communication towers on birds had reported that in case of honeybees, “many recent studies have linked the electromagnetic radiations with an unusual phenomenon known as ‘Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)'. Studies on the impact of cell phone towers and Electromagnetic Radiations on birds and other wildlife are almost nonexistent in India.” Available information from the country on the subject of Electromagnetic Frequency impacts is restricted to a few reports on honeybees. More studies need to be taken up to scientifically establish, if any, the link between the observed abnormalities and disorders in beehives such as CCD, the report said. It also stated that “there had already been some warning bells sounded in the case of bees and birds, which probably heralds the seriousness of this issue and indicates the vulnerability of other species as well.” Bee-strength Experts of the agricultural universities are planning to assess the bee-strength of the hives to be used as the base data. The radiation frequencies from the towers will be measured at definite distances using Radio Frequency meters. The impact of radiation on brood-rearing and pollen and honey storage will also be assessed, said Dr. Devanesan. The foraging patterns of bees, including time of the insects leaving and returning to the hives, will be observed. The movement of a few honeybees, marked with dyes, will be tracked. Incidents of larval deaths will also be evaluated, he said. In Indian conditions, the Asian bees were found to the largest producers of honey when reared employing advanced beekeeping technologies.