European honeybees are being poisoned with up to 57
different pesticides, according to new research
published in the Journal of Chromatography A. A new
method for detecting a whole range of pesticides in
bees could help unravel the mystery behind the
widespread decline of honeybees in recent years, and
help develop an approach to saving them.
Honeybees are under threat globally: in the US,
dramatic declines in bee populations due to a
condition called colony collapse disorder (CCD)
continues to put crops at risk an farmers out of
business. Several studies have shown a link between
pesticide use and bee deaths and the European Union
has banned the use of neonicotinoid pesticides.
But it's not as simple as banning one pesticide
that's killing bees; the relationship between
pesticide use and bee death is complex and
scientists are still trying to figure out exactly
what's happening. In the new study, researchers from
the National Veterinary Research Institute in Poland
have developed a method for analyzing 200 pesticides
at the same time, to figure out what's really
putting honeybees at risk.
"Bee health is a matter of public concern -- bees
are considered critically important for the
environment and agriculture by pollinating more than
80% of crops and wild plants in Europe," said Tomasz
Kiljanek, lead author of the study from the National
Veterinary Research Institute in Poland. "We wanted
to develop a test for a large number of pesticides
currently approved for use in the European Union to
see what is poisoning the bees."
With so many pesticides currently in use, it's
difficult to work out which ones are harming the
bees. Certain combinations of pesticides, or their
use over time, could affect honeybees in different
ways. In order to understand what's really going on,
we need to know which pesticides and at what
concentration levels are present in honeybees.
Kiljanek and the team used a method called QuEChERS,
which is currently used to detect pesticides in
food. With this analysis, they could test poisoned
bees for 200 different pesticides simultaneously, as
well as several additional compounds created when
the pesticides are broken down. About 98% of the
pesticides they tested for are approved for use in
the European Union.
The team used the method to investigate more than 70
honeybee poisoning incidents. Their findings
revealed 57 different pesticides present in the bees
-- it's a toxic puzzle they hope their new method
will help solve.
"This is just the beginning of our research on the
impact of pesticides on honeybee health," said
Kiljanek. "Honeybee poisoning incidents are the tip
of the iceberg. Even at very low levels, pesticides
can weaken bees' defense systems, allowing parasites
or viruses to kill the colony. Our results will help
expand our knowledge about the influence of
pesticides on honeybee health, and will provide
important information for other researchers to
better assess the risk connected with the mix of
current used pesticides."
For more information
"Multi-residue method for the determination of
pesticides and pesticide metabolites in honeybees by
liquid and gas chromatography coupled with tandem
mass spectrometry -- Honeybee poisoning incidents"
by Tomasz Kiljanek, Alicja Niewiadowska, Stanis?aw
Semeniuk, Marta Gawe? and Milena Borz?cka, Andrzej
Posyniak
(doi: 10.1016/j.chroma.2016.01.045). The article
appears in Journal of Chromatography A, Volume 1435
(February 2016), published by Elsevier.
Link...
MDN |