Artificial Lights Disrupt Honeybee Sleep Cycles, UC San Diego Study Finds
A UC San Diego study led by Ph.D. candidate Ashley Kim found that artificial lights disrupt honeybee sleep, potentially impairing foraging behavior and crop pollination, with broader implications for our food supply.
Published on April 15, 2025
A recent study from UC San Diego, led by Ph.D. candidate Ashley Kim, has revealed that artificial light sources—including lamp posts and streetlights—disrupt the natural sleep cycles of honeybees. The research highlights that the resulting sleep deprivation could impair the bees' foraging accuracy, which in turn may affect the pollination of crops and consequently impact the food supply.
Multiple reports, including articles published on November 12, 2024, and December 24, 2024, underscore the broader ecological implications of light pollution. These findings add to the growing body of evidence that environmental factors such as artificial lighting play a significant role in disrupting the circadian rhythms of key pollinators, prompting calls for measures to mitigate these adverse effects.