EMF Evidence Library
Research library/Wildlife & environment/ECO-004
ECO-004Original text reviewed

Homing ability of exposed honey bees

Treder et al. · 2023 · the science of the total environment

The reported finding

Long-term return 78.6% exposed versus 95.2% control, GLMM P=.0064; return time nonsignificant. Short-term 40 min return 90.0% versus 86.6%, P=.4696. Brood development and overall 28-day survival were not significantly different (survival Log-Rank P=.102). A partial day 11-29 foraging-age-window survival analysis differed (Wilcoxon P=.042; exposed n=280, control n=217).

Reading it carefully

Fitness-related field endpoint with engineered signal; 100% duty is not all typical Wi-Fi. Exposure geometry confounded with location; observer blinding unestablished; independent replication absent. The partial survival-window result is exploratory and does not establish a shortened overall lifespan. No inference of colony collapse, human risk or cellular 5G effects.

Inside the study

Exposure conditions
Simultaneous 2.450/5.805 GHz IEEE802.11 a OFDM packets,100% duty,continuous 12 weeks in 2020/14 weeks in 2021; homing after~7 weeks plus 40 min outside hives. EIRP177.83/10 mW per side; colonies 2 m from emitter; controls>100-fold lower. No bee SAR.
Design & controls
Hohenheim field experiments 2020/2021;16 colonies randomly split 8/8. Long-term homing:4 hives/group,8 paired trials,~160 bees. Short-term:9 additional colonies,11 trials,~200 bees. GLMM includes hive/trial random factors.
Related research & shared cohorts
Hohenheim/KIT programme; different protocol from Odemer 2019. Shared network is not independent laboratory replication.
The protection question raised
Could prolonged exposure impair navigation under field-relevant conditions? Reduced homing is functionally important, but site confounding, absent independent replication and unchanged overall survival limit an ecological risk conclusion.
Source verification
Original nine-page KIT repository PDF reviewed; methods,Tables 1-3,results and disclosures checked; upgraded from retrieval lead.
Where to find the result
Sections 2.1-2.6; Tables 1-3; Sections 3.2-3.3; Figures 6-7; Funding/Declaration.
Editorial notices
Primary PubMed linked-notice record checked 20 Oct 2026; no correction, concern or retraction linked at check. This is not an exhaustive publisher-history certification.
Funding
Ministerium für Ernährung,Ländlichen Raum und Verbraucherschutz Baden-Württemberg.
Conflicts of interest
Authors declare no known competing financial interests or personal relationships.

Reviews to read alongside

Related syntheses and proposals in the separate review collection. These are topical reading links, not additional independent experiments.

Original publication

Treder M,Müller M,Fellner L,Traynor K,Rosenkranz P. Defined exposure of honey bee colonies to simulated radiofrequency electromagnetic fields(RF-EMF): Negative effects on the homing ability,but not on brood development or longevity. Science of the Total Environment.2023;896:165211. DOI10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165211.

Plain-text record