sound waves

[pahvantpiper]

Has anyone thought of using high pitch sound waves to kill the mite but hopefully not hurt the bee? I've heard of it being done in agriculture to kill insects. Just wondered if you could produce the resonant frequency of the mite but not the bee if it you would knock the mites off or even kill them.

[Dave W]

I know the frequency of the human voice has no effect. I have called them many things in soft and loud tones.

Come to think of it, that makes them come to my hives

You may be on to something!

[pahvantpiper]

"I know the frequency of the human voice has no effect. I have called them many things in soft and loud tones."

LOL!!!

[Michael Palmer]

I know the frequency of the human voice has no effect.

Have you seen the traditional Egyptian clay tube hives? They are stacked like cordwood. Opposit end from entranve has clay plug that is removed. Beekeeper uses voice to drive bees off the honey and to other end of tube, so it can be harvested.

[sqkcrk]

Do you supposed that it's really the beekeepers breath and not his voice that moves the bees?

[Michael Palmer]

Do you supposed that it's really the beekeepers breath and not his voice that moves the bees?

No. I've read that it's the vibrations of the beekeepers voice...a certain pitch. Sort of like drumming bees from a gum.

[Dave W]

Maybe is my pitch and my "vocabulary" that doesnt work w/ Varroa

Seriously . . . I have never read anything about using sound as a varroa control.

[Brent Bean]

If I was forced to listen to loud heavy metal it would kill me! Why not try it on mites? You might be on to something.

[JonEdangerousli]

Play 'em some gansta' rap...

[marty]

Working with a retired PHD. That has done a lot of this type of work for example if you had a large container of plastic containers with numbers 2-7 it is possible to just melt one of the numbers out without melting the rest of them kind of like a microwave works.
In the same theory it would be possible to treat a truck load at a time exploding the mite with out damage to the honeybee's.

[sqkcrk]

No. I've read that it's the vibrations of the beekeepers voice...a certain pitch. Sort of like drumming bees from a gum.

But isn't drumming bees from a gum done by tapping the side of the bee gum w/ ones hand or a mallet? That's where the vibrations come from. Not from sound, but from the bees feeling the vibration of the box or log that they are in.

I thought that bees were deaf, unable to hear. Where are their ears?

[hoodswoods]

I thought that bees were deaf, unable to hear. Where are their ears?

Why don't you ask them or sign to them?

[Michael Palmer]

But isn't drumming bees from a gum done by tapping the side of the bee gum w/ ones hand or a mallet? That's where the vibrations come from. Not from sound, but from the bees feeling the vibration of the box or log that they are in.

I thought that bees were deaf, unable to hear. Where are their ears?

Yes, that's what drumming is. But the voice too can set up vibrations. And that's what the Egyptian beekeepers did. They used their voices to set up the proper vibrations to drive the bees to the opposite end of the clay tube hive.

[bigbearomaha]

Think of the human ear. it is the action of "sound waves" hitting the ear drum and producing vibrations that the brain then translates into what we hear.

bees have exoskeletons. just because they do not have ears does not mean that they cannot feel the vibrations made by sound waves and respond to them.

Big Bear

[Dave W]

>does not mean that they cannot feel the vibrations . . .
Just "kick a hive in August"

[JoshJames]

It is very possible that frequencies could be used to kill mites, or disrupt their behavior in such a way that renders them incapable of reproducing, surviving, etc. Take the link below for an example.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...ing-water.html

It would take a while to narrow down which frequencies affect mites because of the almost (or maybe it is) limitless amounts of frequencies that can be created. But it sure would be worth a try. The military uses frequency generators of some sort for mass crowd control. It supposedly can make you feel sick and for some, lose control of their bladder. Just where does one pick up a frequency maker? I have no clue....that is waaaaay beyond my puny brain. C'mon smart people, do it for me! LOL

[sqkcrk]

>does not mean that they cannot feel the vibrations . . .
Just "kick a hive in August"

Stand next to a hive and fire off a shot gun. I'll bet you that you won't get a reaction from the bees.

Shooting the hive is different.

[bigbearomaha]

and yet, if a skunk scratches at the front of a hive, guard bees come to investigate. perhaps to get eaten, but they respond all the same.

Big Bear

[sqkcrk]

and yet, if a skunk scratches at the front of a hive, guard bees come to investigate. perhaps to get eaten, but they respond all the same.

Big Bear

But is that response due to a sound? Perhaps, in a way. But if the skunk came up to the hive, and the bees didn't smell it, and then it made some sort of skunk vocalization, what do you think the hives response would be? I don't know. I'm just stuck in my belief.

[Ravenseye]

Skunks don't have an odor all the time. Bees are much more sensitive to a vibration, hence the skunk scratching on the front of the hive getting their attention. Here's a quick clip to review talking about the senses of bees. It includes references.

Sound/Vibration perception of the honey bee

Honey bees do not have ears as warm blooded animals do. Sound waves are conveyed by very small vibrations of solids, liquids, or gasses. Honey bees detect these vibrations through their legs and it has been shown that mechanical vibrations cause the honey bee leg to respond. It is also believed that the bees antennae are sensitive to vibrations when they touch other bees and may contribute to communication of dancing bees and the piping noise made by the queen. In a practical sense, when the lawnmower creates sound to us, it is creating vibrations (sound waves) which are transferred to a solid (the walls and floor of the bee hive) which are then detected by the feet of the honey bee. The further away the lawnmower is from the hive the lower the vibration level.

from:

http://www.beeclass.com/DTS/honey_bee.htm