Scientific study on buzzing bumblebees! Pollinator expert Koppert uses natural enemies to combat pests and bumblebees for pollination. During a unique experiment, the potential influence of the 5G signal on the behaviour of bumblebees is analysed. This research is key to determine how bumblebees can be supported in their natural behaviour in greenhouses.
Remco Huvermann, International Consultant in Pollination, helps growers worldwide optimize pollination in a rapidly changing environment. He explains: “One bumblebee visits 300 flowers on each flight. Every ten minutes, between three and fifteen bumblebees leave their nest. That’s a lot of activity in the greenhouse! Measuring the bumblebee activity at the hive entrance will provide us more insight into potential influence. How can we identify if the 5G signal has any influence on their behaviour? An interesting challenge that I instantly want to join when I heard of the plans for this research.”.
Accurate counts
Sensor experts at The Hague University of Applied Sciences are developing a customized sensor for a counter. Remco: “It’s an ingenious construction. They can enter the nest through one pipe and must leave through another. A light sensor registers the slight interruption of the light. Manual counts taught us that we expect to register between 300 and 2.500 movements a day. We will validate the automated sensor counter by manual counts to test if the counts are accurate. This counter is valuable to us, not only in this current research, but also for future applications in different settings”.
“In the greenhouse at @Tomatoworld, we have installed bumblebee nests at various distances from the 5G installations. We don’t know if we will be able to determine any effect of the 5G signal on the bumblebee’s behaviour. We can measure how active they are and compare the data to their behaviour in greenhouses without 5G installations. A bumblebee colony takes around six weeks to grow towards its biological maximum. The research will cover several growth seasons with different crops and will last more than a year. We will execute several pilots in succession.”
“In the end, I want to help growers enhance crop performance and reduce energy costs, while supporting resilient, sustainable growing practices. Creating the best conditions for a strong ecosystem in the greenhouse is my ultimate drive. l enjoy collaborating with creative minds in this kind of innovative environment. We are all eager to learn: students, suppliers, researchers, project managers. Come to think of it… You can consider our project as a cross-pollination!”.
This research is co-financed by the Swiss Research Foundation for Electricity and Mobile Communication (FSM) (project number A2024-05, 2025-2027).