Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Bees Communicate With Electric Fields

Posted by samzenpus on from the buzz-of-buzzing dept.

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."

71 of 133 comments (clear)

  1. I am shocked by toxygen01 · · Score: 1

    If that is true, I guess the mother nature is far more advanced than I could even imagine. Sonar, ok, infrared sensors, ok, antibiotics, ok, aero/hydro dynamics, ok, but electric field communication, wtf? I thought this domain solely belonged to human race.

    1. Re:I am shocked by similar_name · · Score: 2

      Evolution is pretty cool. At that scale static becomes a bigger part of the environment. It makes sense that it might be incorporated and improved upon. I've often wondered. We see electromagnetic waves with nerves that pick up different wavelengths. If brains also put out electromagnetic waves it seems that at least from a biological standpoint it wouldn't be too far fetched for a nerve mutation to pick those up. Perhaps a crude telepathy could develop or a better sense for when someone's standing behind you.

    2. Re:I am shocked by msauve · · Score: 5, Funny

      "Bees Communicate With Electric Fields"

      So, what do the electric fields have to say? Should we be welcoming our electric field overlords?

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    3. Re:I am shocked by Smirker · · Score: 1

      ^ This guy.

    4. Re:I am shocked by osu-neko · · Score: 2

      Sure, why not? After all, fish invented tasers long before we did, why not other electric toys?

      --
      "Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
    5. Re:I am shocked by davester666 · · Score: 1

      toxygen01, or rather, Bill Simpleton (my nickname for you), this is God. I'm glad you think I'm 'far more advanced than I[Bill] could even imagine'.

      And no, none of the domains you list belong to the human race. You only sort of partially understand them.

      --
      Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
    6. Re:I am shocked by Samantha+Wright · · Score: 2

      If you haven't died of a heart attack yet, plants beat us to finding a use for quantum entanglement, too.

      --
      Bio questions? Ask me to start a Q&A journal. Computer analogies available for most topics!
    7. Re:I am shocked by oztiks · · Score: 2, Funny

      So you're shocked by the fact that Bees use electricity to communicate?

      Is that like being puzzled to learn that Mice can find cheese in a maze?

    8. Re:I am shocked by ahabswhale · · Score: 2

      Bees have been evolving for over 100 million years and they've evolved from wasps which have been evolving for over 400 million years IIRC. Only humanity has the hubris to underestimate creatures that could survive for so long. I would expect they will still be here long after we're gone.

      Don't feel too bad; biologists are notorious for underestimating the creatures on this planet. It wouldn't surprise me if we we're a good 100 years behind the knowledge we should have about them because of it.

      --
      Are agnostics skeptical of unicorns too?
    9. Re:I am shocked by XiaoMing · · Score: 1

      If that is true, I guess the mother nature is far more advanced than I could even imagine. Sonar, ok, infrared sensors, ok, antibiotics, ok, aero/hydro dynamics, ok, but electric field communication, wtf? I thought this domain solely belonged to human race.

      If that is true, I guess the mother nature is far more advanced than I could even imagine. Sonar, ok, infrared sensors, ok, antibiotics, ok, aero/hydro dynamics, ok, but electric field communication, wtf? I thought this domain solely belonged to human race.

      Haha was the remainder of that post just used to justify your punny subject line? Sharks have actually been using electric fields for quite awhile to hunt various prey. And while I woudln't be surprised if it were true, the summary doesn't really suggest causality or even correlation with the bees, it just says "this number is big, it must be useful for something!". Odd for scientists to do that...

      http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ampullae_of_Lorenzini

    10. Re:I am shocked by cheater512 · · Score: 2

      I have *NOT* heard of fish dildos before. Please do share.

    11. Re:I am shocked by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Ummm... electric eels.

      Not suggested for use as a dildo unless you want an experience you will not ever forget.

    12. Re:I am shocked by gstoddart · · Score: 1

      Sharks have been able to sense electric fields for a very long time, migratory birds see magnetic fields, good luck sorting out the venemous platypus and all its strangeness... natural processes have had hundreds of millions of years to get a head start on us.

      I think most people are no longer surprised by such things. Nature has been at this stuff way longer than we've even existed.

      --
      Lost at C:>. Found at C.
    13. Re:I am shocked by SternisheFan · · Score: 1
      Professor Falken believes that the bees are the next species to take over the earth after we destroy ourselves from nuclear weapons. And, he's the very smart man who built the W.O.P.R. computer.

      "Want to play a game?"

    14. Re:I am shocked by cyberchondriac · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but what a way to go

      --

      Look back up at my post, now look back down, you're on the Internet. Now look back up. I'm a signature.
    15. Re:I am shocked by SternisheFan · · Score: 1

      Pics or videos or it didn't happen.

      Google for other links to the story and her picture, you'll see she was a good looker, cute blonde, etc. The other articles say she had a porn video still running on her tv when the neighbors found her. Overly obsessed with sex, the story reads like an x-rated twilight zone episode. Orgasms give that release of 'feel good' dopamine in the brain, like you get from some drugs. She was an addict of her orgasms, I guess you can get hooked on them like any drug addict. Crazy way to have your life end.

    16. Re:I am shocked by oztiks · · Score: 1

      With those those electric fields, are they fields of wind, sun or coal electricity? or doesn't it matter? Bees can communicate with all types of fields which contain electricity?

      Examples of the fields I'm talking about
      http://greenliving.nationalgeographic.com/DM-Resize/photos.demandstudios.com/getty/article/36/14/dv887019.jpg?w=600&h=600&keep_ratio=1
      http://www.screwpile.com.au/app_images/249Solar%20Farm%201.jpg

  2. Unexplained Collapses??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    So, this may suggest that our ever increasing use of EM may be responsible for colony collapse disorders.

    1. Re:Unexplained Collapses??? by Darinbob · · 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.
      It's only unexplained if you think there's something more sinister at work than common poison.

    2. Re:Unexplained Collapses??? by MachDelta · · Score: 1

      Quick! Build giant faraday cages over all the worlds beehives!

      Also, another thought; I wonder how well a simple radio tuned to spew out the right frequency of noise would work for pest control.
      Stuff a few batteries in it, turn it on, and place it next to the hive... would it get rid of the bees (and/or other similar insects) with minimal fuss and insecticides?
      Should I be running to the nearest patent office?

    3. Re:Unexplained Collapses??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Actually, the mass extinction of bees lately has been traced back to a Bayer pesticide. One of the most used ones. I saw a press release or something where Bayer themselves admitted to it in a convoluted way.

      Strangely, a few days later, it couldn't be found anymore, and a "article" on Snopes popped up, calling it "fake", based on bullshit references that were horribly bad and didn't state anything, and vague unsubstantiated claims.

      I'm sorry. I have seen Bayer admitting it. On their own site. And no statement about being "hacked" of something ever left Bayer after that. Which they could easily have done.

      This, among other things that I myself *actually* checked and found to be not correct, is why I don't trust Snopes anymore. Apparently they fabricate whatever they want, if you pay them enough money.

    4. Re:Unexplained Collapses??? by msauve · · Score: 1

      "this may suggest that our ever increasing use of EM may be responsible for colony collapse disorders."

      Except, it doesn't. Maybe if the bees wore tin foil hats?

      --
      "National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
    5. Re:Unexplained Collapses??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Apparently they fabricate whatever they want, if you pay them enough money.

      I wonder if that's true. I should go look it up on Snopes...

    6. Re:Unexplained Collapses??? by 50000BTU_barbecue · · Score: 1

      So, how's your Morse key to HTTP work, exactly?

      --
      Mostly random stuff.
    7. Re:Unexplained Collapses??? by Warma · · Score: 4, 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.

    8. Re:Unexplained Collapses??? by mat8913 · · Score: 2

      Obligatory XKCD: http://xkcd.com/250/

    9. Re:Unexplained Collapses??? by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 2

      I saw a press release or something

      That sounds like the new "bloke down the pub said."

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    10. Re:Unexplained Collapses??? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I don't want to play the devil's advocate here but, there are no conclusive studies that support the theory that EM Hypersentitivity is a real condition. Either the methodology of the study was flawed or the people claiming to be exposed to an EM Field were exposed to a sham field.

    11. Re:Unexplained Collapses??? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 2

      No, this is electrostatic field communication. Radio or even microwave isn't going to have any effect on it. Even the shorter wavelengths, down to the visible range, can be ignored for all but a few materials that demonstrate light-dependant resistance (Handy in photocopiers).

    12. Re:Unexplained Collapses??? by Remus+Shepherd · · Score: 1

      I used to believe that I had EM hypersensitivity. Whenever I turned on the wireless hub in my home for visitors, I got a headache. But I forced myself to leave it on, and after a while I realized that it had no effect on me. If anything it was the blinking blue and red lights on the hub that were causing my headaches. I covered those up and have been living happily with a wireless network for years, now.

      Psychology is stronger than science. If you believe in something it will become true for you, and your belief can be passed to others if you preach about it. I think EM hypersensitivity is a psychosomatic illness, but that's not to minimize how disruptive it can be to the individual.

      On the other hand, bees are small and have antennae, so I can easily believe that they are sensitive to EM effects. More study needs to be done here.

      --
      Genocide Man -- Life is funny. Death is funnier. Mass murder can be hilarious.
    13. Re:Unexplained Collapses??? by HeckRuler · · Score: 2

      I can tell you WITHIN SECONDS of turning on a variety of appliances BLINDFOLDED and from up to 5 meters distance.

      Yeah, my fridge buzzes too.

    14. Re:Unexplained Collapses??? by pac109 · · Score: 2
      http://www.cropscience.bayer.com/en/Media/Backgrounds/Safety-of-clothianidin-to-bee.aspx?overviewId=01BC0BC0-950A-4B79-8643-B64CB395744E

      "The bee die-offs which occurred in spring 2008 in Southwest Germany as the result of faulty application of the active ingredient clothianidin set off a controversial discussion on the use of pesticides for seed treatments."

      This admission?

    15. Re:Unexplained Collapses??? by Cramer · · Score: 2

      To be even remotely "scientific", someone ELSE has to turn it on and off completely without the subject's knowledge. That's what numerous studies have done, and shown no statistical corelation. (translation: the subjects are guessing.)

    16. Re:Unexplained Collapses??? by ToddInSF · · Score: 1

      The sensitivity bees have to electrostatic energy, and the claims some people make of EMI sensitivity have no relation.

      It HAS been documented that SOME people perceive things outside the radio-frequency spectrum that MOST people can not.

      The assumption that some researcher somewhere will automatically instantly have the interest, and be able to secure the funding to study every natural anomaly, is based on naivete and ignorance.

      And the phrase "please demonstrate it for science" is just ridiculous and childish.

  3. Question for Mr Gil Grissom... by rmdingler · · Score: 3, Interesting

    I wonder if this can be linked in any way to the dramatic drop in honeybee populations? Does the population drop-off begin near the implementation of any new wireless technology? Correlation may not lead to causation, but it has been known to lead to wild speculation.

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

    1. Re:Question for Mr Gil Grissom... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Unlikely - the frequencies of the wireless technologies are many orders of magnitude higher than anything associated with a physical wing vibration. The dramatic drop in honeybee population is more likely tied to certain nicotine-derived insecticides. Hmm, an insecticide harming insects? Didn't see that one coming.

    2. Re:Question for Mr Gil Grissom... by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

      Sounds like you have a bee in your bonnet about this.

      --
      systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
    3. Re:Question for Mr Gil Grissom... by MadKeithV · · Score: 1

      Sounds like you have a bee in your bonnet about this.

      It's under his tin foil hat, unable to communicate with the outside world :(

  4. Why wouldn't animals be communicating? by OhANameWhatName · · Score: 1

    I don't see why science has such difficulty accepting that the noises birds make are a language, that the interractions of bees are communication, that elephants communicate over vast distances using noises too low a frequency for the human ear to detect or that whales can and do communicate over vast distances.

    What? It isn't real if we can't prove it? That's just plain silly.

    1. Re:Why wouldn't animals be communicating? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      It's not a matter of IF, it's a matter of HOW.

    2. Re:Why wouldn't animals be communicating? by similar_name · · Score: 1

      I don't know that science has difficulty with it. It's pretty accepted that other animals and plants can communicate is some fashion. It's just depends on how language is defined. Dogs can communicate by peeing on trees, is that a language? If a plant emits a foul odor when threatened and that chemical triggers the release of more in nearby plants to drive the herbivore away is that a language? Does communication==language or is language a specific subset of communication?

    3. Re:Why wouldn't animals be communicating? by pushing-robot · · Score: 1

      http://www.smbc-comics.com/?id=2867

      --
      How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
    4. Re:Why wouldn't animals be communicating? by 50000BTU_barbecue · · Score: 1

      ...but science is how you know these things are happening. I'm not seeing if you have a point here at all.

      --
      Mostly random stuff.
    5. Re:Why wouldn't animals be communicating? by Z34107 · · Score: 1

      Congratulations on not only invoking race, religion, and sex within two posts (in a story about bees, no less), but also on your exceptionally obnoxious use of emoticons.

      4/10, 'cuz I replied.

      --
      DATABASE WOW WOW
    6. Re:Why wouldn't animals be communicating? by SuricouRaven · · Score: 1

      I'm a bird, so I get to use :>

    7. Re:Why wouldn't animals be communicating? by Mindcontrolled · · Score: 1

      Generally, language would be considered a subset of communication. However, if you gather two linguists, you will end up with three definitions of language.

      It is generally seen as probably the most important distinctive property of human languages compared to other modes of communication that human languages are open-ended, i.e. capable of forming an essentially unlimited set of expressions. This is not the case for any known animal communication system. There have been several other properties proposed as defining for a true language - for example metalinguistics, i.e. the ability to talk about a language in the language itself

      --
      Ubi solitudinem faciunt, pacem appellant.
  5. True Bee fact by SternisheFan · · Score: 3, Interesting
    Over it's lifetime the average bee will produce only 1/10 of a teaspoon of honey.

    The more you know...

    1. Re:True Bee fact by similar_name · · Score: 2

      But if you could interbreed African bees with European bees you could get the higher production of African bees in tropical environments with the docile behavior of European bees. Of course you'd want to make sure and keep them under tight wraps until you get the kinks worked out. :)

    2. Re:True Bee fact by Monkey-Man2000 · · Score: 2

      But if you could interbreed African bees with European bees you could get the higher production of African bees in tropical environments with the docile behavior of European bees. Of course you'd want to make sure and keep them under tight wraps until you get the kinks worked out. :)

      Indeed.

      --
      This post was generated by a Cadre of Uber Monkeys for Monkey-Man2000 (603495).
  6. Title and summary by BlackPignouf · · Score: 1

    It might be a good idea to use a consistent vocabulary to describe uncertainty in the title and the summary.

  7. Re:Bees communicate with electric fields by Cryacin · · Score: 1

    Buzz off. We Bees have the right to privacy!

    --
    Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
  8. Misleading Title by Fieryphoenix · · Score: 1, Funny

    Upon reading the summary, I discover the much less amazing story that bees may communicate with other bees using electrical fields. Call me when we discover the sentient electrical fields.

  9. Waggle dance by Spottywot · · Score: 5, Insightful

    It occurred to me initially, that if the effect is only really noticeable after flight then the only information that they could usefully communicate by this method would be how recently they had completed a flight. It then occurred to me that bees perform a waggle dance which is believed to instruct other bees in the hive where to find food sources. The electrostatic effect on the antenna would be most effective at this time, and also seems to solve one of my issues with the waggle dance theory, which is that it seems most effective as a visual form of communication when viewed from above, which of course the bees do not do.The electrostatic explanation would work, as the dance could manipulate the antennea in the manner of an operator inputting directions using a joystick.

    --
    In a cybernetic fit of rage she pissed off to another age...
    1. Re:Waggle dance by Spottywot · · Score: 1

      Bad form to reply to myself, but I have just RTFA and it mentions the waggle dance theory. So just before people start to reply telling me this, I know.

      --
      In a cybernetic fit of rage she pissed off to another age...
  10. Jumping to conclusions by Hentes · · Score: 1

    The research only shows that bees can sense the electric fields of other bees. We don't even know whether bees are able to control their own electric fields, claiming that they communicate with each other that way is a bit of a stretch.

  11. Re:Tin FOIL ALERT by chromas · · Score: 1

    Was your hat really tin? Or aluminum? Was it properly grounded?

  12. I thought it was the changed import rules on bees. by Ungrounded+Lightning · · Score: 2

    Colony collapse has ALREADY been explained by pesticides, specifically a pesticide made by Bayer AG.

    Really? That's interesting.

    I was under the impression that it was most likely caused by the relaxation of import restrictions on bees into the US from areas which had significant bee diseases and parasites which were not (yet) present in the US. From what I hear these occurred shortly (like a couple years) before the "collapse" phenomenon was noticed.

    I'll have to see if I can find the claims and research reports you refer to. (Citations from you would be nice.)

    --
    Bantam Dominique roosters crow a four-note song. Once you've heard it as "Happy BIRTHday" you can't NOT hear it that way
  13. Holy Crap! So do we! by Jane+Q.+Public · · Score: 1

    Don't bother me. I'm Bz.

  14. Italy bans bee killing pesticide, Bees recover by Anonymous Coward · · 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!

  15. the bees better get encryption or an adblocker... by MaxDollarCash · · Score: 1

    If the bees are communicating via electrical signals that means it can be intercepted and understood in the long run. So google will be mining the bees conversations and injecting ads into it for netflix and cheap canadian meds. They are doomed!

  16. Re:Bees communicate with electric fields by plover · · Score: 1

    Well then you better come up with BeeDRM and protect yourselves then.

    Or maybe you should just start using bcrypt.

    --
    John
  17. Re:Spartan Bees by boarder8925 · · Score: 1

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNqiSkd1M6k

    --
    Keep your eyes to the sky.
  18. ESP by Ryanrule · · Score: 1

    So bees essentially have a method of short range physic communication.
    Ima fill this under "damn awesome."

  19. title vs. synopsis. by WindBourne · · Score: 1

    The synopsis speaks that the electrical field MAY allow communications. But the title make it definitive.

    --
    I prefer the "u" in honour as it seems to be missing these days.
  20. Re:I thought it was the changed import rules on be by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I looked for something from a respected news source, Forbes has no reason to lie about this.

    http://www.forbes.com/sites/markgibbs/2012/04/26/bayer-pesticide-profits-or-bees/

  21. So this is how they.. by stillpixel · · Score: 1

    I guess that's how they make their Foursquare check-ins and Facebook status updates? colonydrone223311: suckin' some nectar (22122 likes) colonydrone243354: stung a human.. lost my needle, monday's suck pesticide.. lol

  22. Re:I thought it was the changed import rules on be by wonkey_monkey · · Score: 1

    Damn should have read it first.

    Damn, yes you should have.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
  23. Electric Bees by Cyfun · · Score: 1

    So THIS must be where that buzzing sound is coming from...

    --
    In Soviet Russia, dot slashes YOU!
  24. Note to OP: by rmdingler · · Score: 3, Funny

    The likelihood of anyone noticing you quoted something in the article is on the order of plucking a single hair from a mosquito's back wearing boxing gloves.

    --
    Happiness in intelligent people is the rarest thing I know.

    Ernest Hemingway

  25. Bees Communicate With Electric Fields by j00r0m4nc3r · · Score: 1

    Experiements Suggest That Bees Communicate With Electric Fields

    FTFY...

  26. Re:Tin FOIL ALERT by miknix · · Score: 1

    I'm EM hypersensitive and I don't wear tin foil hats.

    Was your hat really tin? Or aluminum? Was it properly grounded?

    whooooooooooooosh! That was the sound of a honey bee flying over your head!