{"id":1995,"date":"2026-05-05T15:27:59","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T19:27:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/?p=1995"},"modified":"2026-05-08T11:00:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T15:00:26","slug":"ut-professors-collaborate-to-study-magnetism-of-bees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/ut-professors-collaborate-to-study-magnetism-of-bees\/","title":{"rendered":"UT Professors Collaborate to Study Magnetism of Bees"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">As married research professors at the University of Tennessee, Dustin Gilbert and Anne Murray often discuss their work once they get home each night. Their fields of study rarely crossover. That changed six years ago, however, and it was insects that sparked the intersection.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Murray, a research assistant professor in ecology and evolutionary biology in the College of Arts and Sciences, asked Gilbert, \u201cDid you know honeybees are magnetic and can sense the geomagnetic field?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Gilbert, an associate professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, had no idea. But his curiosity was piqued. Gilbert\u2019s research focuses on functional materials and nanotechnology, with an emphasis on magnetism. Together, they formulated a plan to combine their knowledge and launch a novel project on bee magnetism.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1996 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-0100-1500x1000-1.jpg\" alt=\"Dustin Gilbert and Anne Murray\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-0100-1500x1000-1.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-0100-1500x1000-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-0100-1500x1000-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-0100-1500x1000-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">There are more than 20,000 different bee species in the world. If honeybees were magnetic, Gilbert and Murray wondered about other bees. After reviewing the literature, they learned that the magnetism of honeybees was discovered in 1977. Since that time, only four other bee species had been identified as being able to sense magnetic fields.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Gilbert, Murray, and <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Laura Russo, an assistant professor in ecology and evolutionary biology at UT who performs research on native bee species, set out to provide a more definitive cataloging of bee magnetism. <\/span><span data-contrast=\"none\">Over the last six years, they have tested more than 120 different species of bees and found that nearly 90 percent are magnetic. Their research was published <\/span><span data-contrast=\"auto\">this month in <\/span><i><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Science Advances.<\/span><\/i><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cIt just was so unexpected. There had been some work on it, but we decided to cast a wider net out of curiosity and wonder,\u201d said Murray, whose research focuses on insect sensory behavior, such as how chemicals released by plants mediate key ecological relationships with insects and fungi. \u201cWhat has been the most surprising thing is there are so many and so much variety. We just weren&#8217;t expecting that.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Interpretive bee dancing<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Magnetoreception is the innate capacity of many animals to sense and use the Earth\u2019s magnetic field. It is often used for navigation, much like how humans use a compass or a map. While many animals use this for long-range migration, the honeybee uses it to communicate directions to foraging sites to other bees.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Female honeybees go out to collect pollen, bring it back to the hive, and then share the location with their peers. The honeybees communicate with each other by doing an interpretive dance so their peers know where the pollen can be found. The original 1977 observation was that if a magnet was placed near the honeybee\u2019s nest, the bee would change direction of her dance depending on the placement of the magnet. However, recent experiments have cast doubt on this theory, making the actual use of magnetism more mysterious.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cThe idea was that the bee aligns its dance with the magnetic field, and then does its dance, and then everybody watching it can leave and use their magnetic sense to guide them to find the flowers,\u201d Gilbert said. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like giving a pointer. That\u2019s why they said these bees are magnetoreceptive. But none of the other four species of bees that had been studied before we started our research have a dance, so what do they use it for?\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">That\u2019s the answer the UT research group has been hoping to discover.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1997 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-00391500x1000-1.jpg\" alt=\"Specimens of bees \" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-00391500x1000-1.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-00391500x1000-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-00391500x1000-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-00391500x1000-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">To study the bees, the group collected species from across the world. Previous papers inferred a connection between magnetoreception and social behavior because of the honeybee\u2019s dance\u2014although no one followed up by testing for magnetism in solitary bees. The UT team expanded the plan; from mapping how prevalent bee magnetism is to seeking correlations with the bee\u2019s natural history and behavior.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">Russo provided her expertise on bee diversity and social behavior, and contributed bees from her own extensive collection to test. To fill out their sampling, the team requested bee species from other collections, including York University in Canada and The Smithsonian. The priceless collections were delivered in everything from leather-bound cases to generic pizza boxes.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-2000\" src=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-0375-1500x1000-1.jpg\" alt=\"Bee specimens in a variety of boxes, including pizza boxes\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-0375-1500x1000-1.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-0375-1500x1000-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-0375-1500x1000-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-0375-1500x1000-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"none\">\u201cWe first sampled social and solitary members of the bee family Apidae, which included all previous species that had been reported ferromagnetic,\u201d Russo said. &#8220;We originally thought only the social species would be magnetic, but ferromagnetism was well-represented in the solitary species as well. Then, we had to broaden the scope of our hypotheses.&#8221;<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Moving up the evolutionary tree<\/span><\/b><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In their research, Russo, Gilbert, and Murray found the strength of the magnetic signal wasn\u2019t the same for every bee. Biggers bees and bees that are more social tended to have a stronger magnetic signal.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">The research group began exploring whether natural history, including a bee\u2019s sex, sociality, habitat, geography, and nesting habits, explained the presence of ferromagnetism. Russo performed extensive statistical analysis, and Gilbert studied every component of magnetism. They couldn\u2019t find one explanatory factor.\u00a0<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">That led them to move up the evolutionary tree and begin testing wasps to see if the magnetism existed in ancestral insects even before bees evolved. Along with new insects, came new collaborators, with bees and wasps being shipped from the University of Alaska, University of Hawaii, Australian National University, the University of Oldenburg in Germany, and the University of S\u00e3o Paulo in Brazil among other places.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">In testing nearly 300 species of wasps, they found that 90 percent are magnetic.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-1998 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-0283-1500x1000-1.jpg\" alt=\"Bee sample in tube\" width=\"1500\" height=\"1000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-0283-1500x1000-1.jpg 1500w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-0283-1500x1000-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-0283-1500x1000-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/tickle.utk.edu\/mse\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/05\/20260409_Engineering-0283-1500x1000-1-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cAltogether, this suggests that magnetoreception is a sense that goes back further in the evolutionary tree and continues to provide an unknown advantage,\u201d Gilbert said. \u201cWhile the prevailing theory is that insects use vision to navigate, our data suggests that magnetism may also play a crucial role, probably in short-range navigation. But we still don\u2019t know for sure why they use magnetic fields and why it seems to have persisted for 150 million years.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">Gilbert and Murray plan to continue the project to try and find the answer. They never imagined Murray\u2019s question about honeybees would lead to a passion project that isolder than their 5-year-old son. But both are thrilled to be using their individual research strengths to work together.<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;134233117&quot;:false,&quot;134233118&quot;:false,&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559738&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-contrast=\"auto\">\u201cThe interdisciplinary nature of this project makes it very fun and interesting,\u201d Murray said. \u201cThere are very different approaches to doing things and very different assumptions. It really expands your view. It&#8217;s been enjoyable, and it&#8217;s been very cool to bring these different areas together.\u201d<\/span><span data-ccp-props=\"{&quot;201341983&quot;:0,&quot;335559739&quot;:0,&quot;335559740&quot;:240}\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"h4 orange-mark\">Contact<\/h2>\n<p>Rhiannon Potkey (<a href=\"mailto:rpotkey@utk.edu\">rpotkey@utk.edu<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As married research professors at the University of Tennessee, Dustin Gilbert and Anne Murray often discuss their work once they [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":1999,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,14],"tags":[111,529],"class_list":["post-1995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-faculty","category-news","tag-dustin-gilbert","tag-magnetism"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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