Urbini A, Sparvoli E, Turillazzi S
Dipartimento di Biologia Animale e Genetica, Università degli Studi di Firenze, Via Romana 17, 50125 Firenze, Italy.
Chemosphere. 2006 Jul;64(5):697-703. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2005.11.009. Epub 2006 Jan 9.
The wasps of the genus Polistes (paper wasps), have a worldwide distribution and are widespread in human-built areas. Like other social wasps, they are at the top of food chains and are therefore exposed to the dangers of biomagnification, given that the larvae are fed predominantly with prey that consist of herbivorous insects. The larval faeces, larval fecal masses, in the form of a semi-solid ball, are made up of the residues of the diet of the larva, which are emitted and compressed on the floor of the cell during the larval metamorphosis. Larval fecal masses may accumulate lead (up to 36 times with respect to the adult body), therefore they were used as substrate for the analysis. From the analysis of sample nests of Polistes dominulus in various sites of the urban area of Florence, it emerges that the larval fecal masses are an analytical substrate with which it is possible to distinguish zones with differing degrees of lead pollution. The lead concentration measured in the larval fecal masses turns out to be directly correlated with vehicle traffic density, the main lead source in Florence when the survey was carried out. The notable increase in the lead concentration of larval fecal masses from the rural to the urban nest (11.15 times), in contrast with the much more limited level of pupae (4.39 times), seems to indicate the efficiency of the excretion and/or barrier mechanisms. These wasps seem to be a promising species for biomonitoring lead pollution in order to better understand its dynamics in anthropic ecosystems after the progressive diffusion of unleaded gasoline.
胡蜂属（纸巢黄蜂）的黄蜂分布于全球，在人类建造的区域广泛存在。与其他社会性黄蜂一样，它们处于食物链顶端，因此面临生物放大作用的危险，因为幼虫主要以食草昆虫组成的猎物为食。幼虫粪便，即呈半固体球状的幼虫粪便团，由幼虫饮食的残渣组成，在幼虫变态期间被排出并压缩在蜂巢底部。幼虫粪便团可能积累铅（相对于成虫身体可达36倍），因此它们被用作分析的底物。通过对佛罗伦萨市区不同地点的意大利黄胡蜂样本蜂巢进行分析发现，幼虫粪便团是一种分析底物，利用它可以区分不同铅污染程度的区域。在幼虫粪便团中测得的铅浓度与车辆交通密度直接相关，在进行调查时，车辆交通密度是佛罗伦萨主要的铅源。与蛹的铅浓度（4.39倍）相比，从农村蜂巢到城市蜂巢幼虫粪便团中铅浓度显著增加（11.15倍），这似乎表明了排泄和/或屏障机制的效率。这些黄蜂似乎是生物监测铅污染的一个很有前景的物种，以便在无铅汽油逐渐普及后更好地了解其在人类生态系统中的动态。
