Widespread occurrence of chemical residues in beehive matrices from apiaries located in different landscapes of Western France.

Olivier Lambert,Chantal Thorin,Laure Wiest,Hervé Pouliquen,Mélanie Piroux,Sophie Puyo,Frédéric Delbac,Monique L'Hostis,Audrey Buleté,Nicolas Desneux

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0067007

Abstract

BackgroundThe honey bee, Apis mellifera, is frequently used as a sentinel to monitor environmental pollution. In parallel, general weakening and unprecedented colony losses have been reported in Europe and the USA, and many factors are suspected to play a central role in these problems, including infection by pathogens, nutritional stress and pesticide poisoning. Honey bee, honey and pollen samples collected from eighteen apiaries of western France from four different landscape contexts during four different periods in 2008 and in 2009 were analyzed to evaluate the presence of pesticides and veterinary drug residues.Methodology/FindingsA multi-residue analysis of 80 compounds was performed using a modified QuEChERS method, followed by GC-ToF and LC−MS/MS. The analysis revealed that 95.7%, 72.3% and 58.6% of the honey, honey bee and pollen samples, respectively, were contaminated by at least one compound. The frequency of detection was higher in the honey samples (n = 28) than in the pollen (n = 23) or honey bee (n = 20) samples, but the highest concentrations were found in pollen. Although most compounds were rarely found, some of the contaminants reached high concentrations that might lead to adverse effects on bee health. The three most frequent residues were the widely used fungicide carbendazim and two acaricides, amitraz and coumaphos, that are used by beekeepers to control Varroa destructor. Apiaries in rural-cultivated landscapes were more contaminated than those in other landscape contexts, but the differences were not significant. The contamination of the different matrices was shown to be higher in early spring than in all other periods.Conclusions/SignificanceHoney bees, honeys and pollens are appropriate sentinels for monitoring pesticide and veterinary drug environmental pollution. This study revealed the widespread occurrence of multiple residues in beehive matrices and suggests a potential issue with the effects of these residues alone or in combination on honey bee health.

Highlights

Since the middle of the twentieth century, profound changes have occurred and damaged the ecological balance
Among the 141 honey bee, 141 honey and 128 pollen samples collected from 18 apiaries during 2008 and 2009, 102 (72.3%), 135 (95.7%) and 75 (58.6%) of the samples, respectively, were contaminated by at least one contaminant
Most prevalent contaminants in beehive matrices The fungicide carbendazim and the acaricides amitraz and coumaphos, which are commonly used in beehives to control the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, were the three most prevalent residues

Summary

Introduction

Since the middle of the twentieth century, profound changes have occurred and damaged the ecological balance. Industrialization, growing urbanization, transportation and agricultural practices have led to overall ecosystem contamination and to major modifications in landscape structure and composition. These changes have had adverse effects on biodiversity, causing physiological and behavioral damage to living organisms and altering organism habitats and the quality and/or the quantity of food resources [125]. General weakening and unprecedented colony losses have been reported in Europe and the USA, and many factors are suspected to play a central role in these problems, including infection by pathogens, nutritional stress and pesticide poisoning. Honey and pollen samples collected from eighteen apiaries of western France from four different landscape contexts during four different periods in 2008 and in 2009 were analyzed to evaluate the presence of pesticides and veterinary drug residues

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Conclusion