-Beekeepers interested in converting their honey farms to organic management must replace old combs with organic foundations. The experiment described in this paper compares two methods of replacement of old combs, "fast" (5 combs per year) and "slow" (2 combs per year), by measuring the levels of acaricide residues in the newly built combs. Tested acaricides were coumaphos (Perizin and Asuntol), fluvalinate (Apistan), and chlorfenvinphos (Supona). Significant differences between the two replacement groups were observed only for the Apistan group in the third year, confirming high lipophilicity of fluvalinate. The residue levels in the new combs three years after beginning the conversion were significantly lower than initial levels for all products. Direct contamination of the combs was highest in Asuntol-treated hives and lowest in Perizin-treated hives. Residues in honey exceeding EU Maximum Residue Limit were found only in the case of Asuntol.Apis mellifera / acaricide / organic beekeeping / residues / wax

In more than half of the analysed samples, residues of at least one active ingredient were detected. The mean levels of residues of all the considered active ingredients in the positive samples may represent a source of accumulation in beeswax and pose risks to honey bee health. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

The global range of the environmental quality issues we all face necessitates integrated action from all of the countries that suffer from a particular environmental issue. We must be able to obtain data on the presence of pollutants and their effects on biota from any territory, regardless of its environmental, infrastructural, social, and economic conditions. Biomonitoring utilizes organisms and natural materials to obtain this information. In particular, the honeybee is a ubiquitous, easy-to-breed organism with great mobility. Its body, which is covered with hairs, picks up materials and particulates that it encounters in the environment. Therefore, bees are highly effective accumulators of materials from the soil, vegetation, air, and water. These characteristics mean that the honeybee is both a bioindicator and a passive bioaccumulator organism, making it an ideal agent for easily monitoring vast areas inexpensively, even in regions where infrastructure is scarce. In this short review, we summarize the main targets of the honeybee-based monitoring campaigns that have been carried out to date, highlighting the results obtained in assessments of organic and inorganic pollution performed by coupling more modern technologies with this long-standing practice. It is hoped that this review will make scientists more aware of the incredible potential of these delicate organisms to provide data that could prove useful in the management of environmental issues.

There is growing evidence that pesticides may be among the causes of worldwide bee declines, which has resulted in repeated calls for their increased scrutiny in regulatory assessments. One recurring concern is that the current frameworks may be biased towards assessing risks to the honey bee. This paradigm requires extrapolating toxicity information across bee species. Most research effort has therefore focused on quantifying differences in sensitivity across species. However, our understanding of how responses to pesticides may vary within a species is still very poor. Here we take the first steps towards filling this knowledge gap by comparing acute, lethal hazards in sexes and castes of the eusocial bee Bombus terrestris and in sexes of the solitary bee Osmia bicornis after oral and contact exposure to the pesticides sulfoxaflor, Amistar (azoxystrobin) and glyphosate. We show that sensitivity towards pesticides varies significantly both within and across species. Bee weight was a meaningful predictor of pesticide susceptibility. However, weight could not fully explain the observed differences, which suggests the existence of unexplored mechanisms regulating pesticide sensitivity across bee sexes and castes. Our data show that intra-specific responses are an overlooked yet important aspect of the risk assessment of pesticides in bees.

No abstract