Swiss Bee Research Centre, Agroscope, Schwarzenburgstrasse 161, 3003, Bern, Switzerland.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2024 Nov;31(51):61060-61072. doi: 10.1007/s11356-024-35224-3. Epub 2024 Oct 15.
Honey bees are often exposed to a variety of contaminants, including pesticides from agricultural use. The aim of this study was to investigate the temporal entry of pesticides into the hive by examining the seasonal timing of honey bees bringing pesticide-contaminated pollen into their colonies and the subsequent accumulation of these pesticides in beeswax. Pollen and beeswax samples were collected biweekly from five colonies situated in an agricultural environment in Switzerland. In pollen, 23 pesticides (out of 50) were quantified, including 4 insecticides, 4 herbicides, 12 fungicides, a transformation product, an acaricide, and a synergist. The maximal insecticide concentration levels measured in individual pollen samples were 69.4 μg/kg (thiacloprid), 48.3 μg/kg (acetamiprid), 13.8 μg/kg (spinosad), and 11.1 μg/kg (indoxacarb), while fungicide levels ranged up to 2212.7 μg/kg (cyprodinil), and herbicides were up to 71.9 μg/kg (prosulfocarb). Eighteen of the pesticides found in pollen were also quantifiable in beeswax. Among these were 17 lipophilic pesticides with logarithmic octanol water coefficients (log K) equal or above 2.5, which showed similar temporal profiles and order of accumulation magnitude as in pollen. For example, maximal concentrations measured in individual beeswax samples were 12.4 μg/kg for indoxacarb (insecticide), 986.4 μg/kg for cyprodinil (fungicide), and 21.6 μg/kg for prosulfocarb (herbicide). Furthermore, pesticides with log K between 2.5 and 7.0 remained in the beeswax during wax purification. Our study shows that a large variety of pesticides brought into the hive through pollen potentially stay in the beeswax during recycling, thus constantly exposing honey bees to pesticides.
蜜蜂经常接触到各种污染物，包括农业使用的农药。本研究旨在通过检查蜜蜂季节性地将受农药污染的花粉带入蜂巢，以及随后这些农药在蜂蜡中的积累情况，来研究农药进入蜂巢的时间。从瑞士农业环境中的五个蜂巢中，每两周采集一次花粉和蜂蜡样本。在花粉中，定量了 23 种农药（50 种中的 4 种），包括 4 种杀虫剂、4 种除草剂、12 种杀菌剂、1 种转化产物、1 种杀螨剂和 1 种增效剂。在个别花粉样本中测量到的最大杀虫剂浓度水平分别为 69.4μg/kg（噻虫啉）、48.3μg/kg（乙酰甲胺磷）、13.8μg/kg（多杀菌素）和 11.1μg/kg（茚虫威），而杀菌剂水平高达 2212.7μg/kg（环丙啶），除草剂高达 71.9μg/kg（丙硫克百威）。在花粉中也可以定量检测到 18 种农药。其中 17 种为脂溶性农药，其辛醇-水分配系数（log K）等于或高于 2.5，其表现出与花粉中相似的时间分布和积累量顺序。例如，在个别蜂蜡样本中测量到的最大浓度分别为 12.4μg/kg 茚虫威（杀虫剂）、986.4μg/kg 环丙啶（杀菌剂）和 21.6μg/kg 丙硫克百威（除草剂）。此外，log K 值在 2.5 和 7.0 之间的农药在蜂蜡净化过程中仍留在蜂蜡中。我们的研究表明，通过花粉带入蜂巢的大量农药，在回收过程中可能会一直留在蜂蜡中，从而使蜜蜂不断接触到农药。
