Thanks for this! Fascinating ..and reassuring
So when I talk to them they don’t really listen ! 🙂…….
Sent from my iPhone
On 8 May 2022, at 22:20, Oxnatbees <oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Unlikely to have any effect, Rhiannon.
Bees have poor hearing to sound, though they are very sensitive to vibration.
Allow me to expand on this point...
They CAN hear lowish frequencies - approximately equivalent to that of the
human voice - but they aren't very sensitive to this air carried vibration. I
HAVE seen Gareth stung on the nose when he stood right in front of a hive and
talked loudly to a group of us for several minutes. The bees eventually
noticed, but it took a while.
However if you vibrate the ground - could be a lawnmower, traffic on a road,
a power tool, or a tree root where the tree is shaking in the wind - this
shakes the hive and the combs. The combs act like a big collector-amplifier
for such vibration and the bees use low frequency shaking of the comb to talk
(waggle dance). They feel vibration through their legs and they are very
sensitive to this.
If you put your speaker physically on the hive they might react. But if they
aren't bothered by the radio where you use it - they probably don't notice it
at all.
Paul
On Sun, 8 May 2022 at 18:20, RhE <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Weird question....
My TBH is in my garden very near my veg patch and 'shed/retreat' .
I often listen to podcasts and audiobooks on my phone in the garden but
without headphones and also music sometimes on a speaker when working in
the 'shed' .
Will these have an adverse effect on the bees?
They seem to be fine with it ( no complaints) but effects on brood
production,honey production etc wouldn't be visible as I have no way of
valid comparison ...
Any anecdotal evidence or observations regarding this please?
I don't want to make them unhappy but would like carry on listening
sometimes....
Thanks for any wisdom.
Best wishes
Rhiannon
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