Using a hazard quotient to evaluate pesticide residues detected in pollen trapped from honey bees (Apis mellifera) in Connecticut.

ABSTRACT: Analysis of pollen trapped from honey bees as they return to their hives provides a method of monitoring fluctuations in one route of pesticide exposure over location and time. We collected pollen from apiaries in five locations in Connecticut, including urban, rural, and mixed agricultural sites, for periods from two to five years. Pollen was analyzed for pesticide residues using a standard extraction method widely used for pesticides (QuEChERS) and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometric analysis. Sixty pesticides or metabolites were detected. Because the dose lethal to 50% of adult worker honey bees (LD50) is the only toxicity parameter available for a wide range of pesticides, and among our pesticides there were contact LD50 values ranging from 0.006 to >1000 μg per bee (range 166,000

SUBMITTER: Stoner KA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3797043 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature