Very interesting suggestion! I must however point out that near monitoring of bees should not be based on wireless tech. There are now numerous studies showing that bees exhibit avoidance reactions to active phone and WiFi signals (think: colony collapse, hive abandonment). Probably an effect mediated via their high magnetic field sensitivity. For starters, see: https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s13592-011-001...
The methodology in the study you link is suspect. Instead of changing just one variable, whether the phones had their batteries on or off, they changed other parameters. For instance, in one branch of the experiment the experimenters introduced a radio loudspeaker 60cm from the hive. This is particularly problematic when the measurement they used to determine the status of the bees was --wait for it-- sound.
I also saw nothing done in the experiment to separate whether the observed effects were caused by vibration, noise, or electromagnetic effects.
I sincerely read it with an open mind, but it doesn't look like a well-designed study.
