Flight, orientation, and homing abilities of honeybees following exposure to 2.45-GHz CW microwaves.
Foraging-experienced honeybees retained normal flight, orientation, and memory functions after 30 minutes' exposure to 2.45-GHz CW microwaves at power densities from 3 to 50 mW/cm2. These experiments were conducted at power densities approximating and exceeding those that would be present above receiving antennas of the proposed solar power satellite (SPS) energy transmission system and for a duration exceeding that which honeybees living outside a rectenna might be expected to spend within the rectenna on individual foraging trips. There was no evidence that airborne invertebrates would be significantly affected during transient passage through microwaves associated with SPS ground-based microwave receiving stations.
D000818:Animals; D001516:Bees / Q000502:physiology*; D005426:Flight, Animal; D008568:Memory / Q000528:radiation effects*; D008872:Microwaves; D009949:Orientation / Q000528:radiation effects*