A bee on a flower (illustrative image).

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Vladimir Smirnov / TASS / Sipa USA / S

The radiation from our mobile phones could accentuate the decrease in insects in Europe.

This is in any case the conclusion of a German NGO, which has looked into a hundred studies on the subject.

The increasing exposure of the environment to electromagnetic radiation has "probably an influence on the world of insects", estimates this analysis, published Thursday, of data from 190 studies carried out by the German Association for the conservation of nature (NABU ) in collaboration with two German and Luxembourgish NGOs.

Stress in insects

This analysis comes as Europe prepares for the upcoming arrival of 5G technology, which must offer a speed 100 times faster than that of existing 4G networks and raises many warnings, in particular from environmentalists.

Some 60% of studies show, according to these NGOs, negative effects on bees, wasps and flies.

These adverse effects range from loss of orientation ability due to magnetic fields to deterioration of genetic material and larvae.

In particular, the radiation from mobile phones and wireless networks such as WiFi would cause insects to open calcium channels in cells, leading to a significant introduction of calcium ions into the body.

This high-dose calcium triggers chain reactions in insects and "cellular stress," according to the study.

A shrinking population

Among these reactions would be "an alteration of the sense of direction and a decrease in the reproductive capacity".

"The day-night rhythm is disturbed and the immune system is poorly activated", further underline the authors of the report.

"Studies in Greece also show that radiation from cell phones is significantly more harmful than the magnetic field of a high voltage power line," they add.

"This data analysis shows that we must keep our eyes open in all directions when we analyze the causes of the spectacular decline of insects", explains in the presentation of the study Johannes Enssle, head of NABU in the Baden-Württemberg region .

“The subject is uncomfortable for many of us because it interferes with our daily habits and there are powerful economic interests behind mobile communications technology,” argues Johannes Enssle.

The biomass of arthropods has decreased in ten years in Europe by 67% in meadows and by 41% in forests, according to a German study published in October 2019 in the journal

Nature

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