Honeybees pick up 'astonishing' number of pesticides via non-crop plants

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-05/pu-hpu052616.php

Public Release: 31-May-2016
Honeybees pick up 'astonishing' number of pesticides via non-crop plants
Purdue University

A Purdue University study shows that honeybees collect the vast majority of their pollen from plants other than crops, even in areas dominated by corn and soybeans, and that pollen is consistently contaminated with a host of agricultural and urban pesticides throughout the growing season.

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The pollen samples represented up to 30 plant families and contained residues from pesticides spanning nine chemical classes, including neonicotinoids - common corn and soybean seed treatments that are toxic to bees. The highest concentrations of pesticides in bee pollen, however, were pyrethroids, which are typically used to control mosquitoes and other nuisance pests.

"Although crop pollen was only a minor part of what they collected, bees in our study were exposed to a far wider range of chemicals than we expected," said Krupke. "The sheer numbers of pesticides we found in pollen samples were astonishing. Agricultural chemicals are only part of the problem. Homeowners and urban landscapes are big contributors, even when hives are directly adjacent to crop fields."

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"If you care about bees as a homeowner, only use insecticides when you really need to because bees will come into contact with them," she said.

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