Exposure scheme separates effects of electric shock and electric field for honey bees, Apis mellifera L.

Mechanisms to explain disturbance of honey bee colonies under a 765-kV, 60-Hz transmission line [electric (E) field = 7 kV/m] fall into two categories: direct bee perception of enhanced in-hive E fields, and perception of shock from induced currents. The same adverse biological effects previously observed in honey bee colonies exposed under a 765-kV transmission line can be reproduced by exposing worker bees to shock or E field within elongated hive entranceways (= tunnels). Exposure to intense E field caused disturbance only if bees were in contact with a conductive substrate. E-field and shock exposure can be separated and precisely defined within tunnels, eliminating dosimetric vagaries that occur when entire hives are exposed to E field.