Critical knowledge gaps about environmental fate and unintentional effects of currently used pesticides (CUPs) hamper the understanding and mitigation of their global impacts on ecological processes. We investigated the exposure of earthworms to 31 multiclass CUPs in an arable landscape in France. We highlighted the presence of at least one pesticide in all soils (n=180) and 92% of earthworms (n=155) both in treated crops and nontreated habitats (hedgerows, grasslands, and cereals under organic farming). Mixtures of at least one insecticide, one herbicide, and one fungicide (> limit of quantification) contaminated 90% of soils and 54% of earthworms at levels that could endanger these nontarget beneficial soil organisms. A high risk of chronic toxicity to earthworms was found (46% of samples) both in treated winter cereals and nontreated habitats considered as refuges. This may alter biodiversity, hinder recovery, and impair ecosystem functions. These results provide essential insights for sustainable agriculture and CUP regulation, and highlight the potential of pesticides as agents of global change.

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Royal jelly, a honey bee secretion, plays a critical role in caste determination in honey bees because it serves as the source of nutrition for young larvae destined to become queens. It is also fed to adult queens. Royal jelly possesses numerous functional properties and thus has been used as a medication, health food, and cosmetic in many countries. In this paper, we first introduce a traditional method for producing royal jelly by artificial larvae grafting and a newly developed method that does not require grafting of larvae. We describe protocols for the storage and freeze-drying of royal jelly to preserve its biological properties. Routine methods for determination of two important quality criteria, water content and trans-10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid content, are outlined. On a dry basis, protein, carbohydrate, and fatty acids were found to be the 3 most abundant components of royal jelly. Methods for their isolation, identification, and quantification are described. Because royal jelly is susceptible to contamination with veterinary drugs and acaricides, we also describe methods for detection and quantification of some veterinary drugs and acaricides in royal jelly.Mé todos estándar para la investigació n de la jalea real de Apis mellifera La jalea real, una secreció n de abejas, desempeña un papel crítico en la determinació n de castas en la abeja melífera, ya que sirve como fuente de nutrició n para larvas jó venes destinadas a convertirse en reinas. También alimenta a las reinas adultas. La jalea real posee numerosas propiedades funcionales y por lo tanto se ha utilizado como un medicamento, alimento saludable y cosmético en muchos países. En este artículo, introducimos un método tradicional para producir jalea real mediante el injerto artificial de larvas y un método recientemente desarrollado que no requiere injerto de larvas. Describimos protocolos para el almacenamiento y la liofilizació n de la jalea real para preservar sus propiedades bioló gicas. Se describen métodos rutinarios para la determinació n de dos importantes criterios de calidad, el contenido de agua y el de ácido trans-10-hidroxi-2-decenoico. En una base seca, proteínas, carbohidratos y ácidos grasos fueron los tres componentes más abundantes de la jalea real. Se describen métodos para su aislamiento, identificació n y cuantificació n. Debido a que la jalea real es susceptible a la contaminació n con medicamentos veterinarios y acaricidas, también describimos métodos para la detecció n y cuantificació n de algunos medicamentos veterinarios y acaricidas en jalea real.

Apiculture and pollination services are seriously threatened by bee weakening and losses phenomena. In this context, a survey was performed on samples from beehives across French areas during the 2012-2016 growing seasons, primarily taken from symptomatic colonies. A total of 488 honeybees, beebread, and wax were analyzed for the presence of pesticide residues. A total of 13 analytes including neonicotinoids and pyrethroids insecticides together with some of their metabolites and the fungicide boscalid were screened within samples. Methodologies based on efficient modified quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged, and safe extractions followed by an LC-MS/MS quantification were implemented for each matrix. Thirty-eight percent of the 125 bee samples, 61% of the 87 wax samples, and 77% of the 276 beebread samples contained at least one of the targeted pesticides. Beebread was the most contaminated matrix with an average of two pesticide detections by positive sample and a maximum of seven compounds for a sample. Neonicotinoids and boscalid were the most often detected pesticides, whatever the matrix. The comparison of neonicotinoid detections in samples collected before and after the partial neonicotinoid ban in France displays a decrease in the frequency of detections for contamination levels lower than 1 ng/g in beebread. For higher levels and other matrices, no tendency can be drawn.

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This study has provided a method to differentiate honeys from seven botanical origins, based on organic acid analysis. By combining various organic acid contents and isotopic ratio values through statistical processing by Principal Component Analysis it is possible to differentiate honey samples as a function of their botanical origin.

International audienceThe present work describes the development and validation of a sensitive method for the determination of traces of diverse groups of pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors in surface water. Thirty-seven substances have been selected, including 10 pesticides, 6 hormonal steroids and assimilates, 12 pharmaceuticals, 5 alkylphenols, 1 chlorophenol and 3 other well-known human contaminants, 1 UV filter and 2 plasticisers. An automated online solid-phase extraction (SPE) is directly coupled to liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Different SPE columns have been tested, and the injection volume has been optimised. The developed analytical methodology is based on the direct injection of 2.5 mL of water sample acidified at pH 1.6 on an Oasis HLB loading column (20 × 2.1 mm) with 5-µm particles. Then, the chromatographic separation is achieved on a Kinetex XB C18 (100 × 2.1 mm; 1.7 µm) column, and the quantification is realised in multiple-reaction monitoring mode. The online SPE step warrants minimal sample handling, low solvent consumption, high sample throughput, saving time and costs. This method allows the quantification of the target analytes in the lower ng/L concentration range, with limits of quantification (LQs) between 100 pg/L and 10 ng/L, 26 compounds having LQ lower than 1 ng/L. The monitoring of two selected MS/MS transitions for each compound allows the reliable confirmation of positive findings even at the LQ level. The developed and validated methodology has been applied to the analysis of various real samples from two French rivers. Twelve target compounds have been detected in the environmental samples, and the major pollutants are pharmaceuticals usually used by humans (paracetamol, carbamazepine, oxazepam, ketoprofen, trimethoprim). The pesticides atrazine and carbendazim have been ubiquitously detected in real samples too. Metronidazole, sulfamethoxazole and diuron were also frequently quantified in the water samples