Concentration of Heavy Metals in Pollen and Bees Osmia bicornis L. in Three Different Habitats in the Łowicz District in Central Poland

Zajdel, Barbara; Migdał, Paweł; Murawska, Agnieszka; Jojczyk, Agata; Berbeć, Ewelina; Kucharska, Kornelia; Gąbka, Jakub

doi:10.3390/agriculture13122209

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 52 publications

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“…Heavy metals negatively affect vitality of honey bees, development of brood, and species diversity. According to Verma et al (2023) and Zajdel et al (2023), Apis mellifera can be a marker for monitoring environmental contamination with heavy metals, because it reflects presence and number of those metals in plants around apiaries. Honeybees' pastures are essential to the quality and safety of apiary products, and their current state is determined by the presence of technogenic contamination, including with heavy metals (Verma et al, 2023).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Productivity of bee families and biomonitoring of corbicular pollen and war-affected honeybee foraging sites with cultivated honey clover (Melilotus albus)

Razanov,

Ibatulin,

Razanov

et al. 2024

Regul. Mech. Biosyst.

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As a result of military actions, some territories of Ukraine have suffered technogenic loading on the environment. Of special concern is disturbed agricultural soils that are significant for food safety of the country. Soils affected by military actions require control of contamination and restoration of fertility. The studies revealed the advantages of cultivating honey clover (Melilotus albus) in war-affected soils and controlling content of heavy metals in soils and corbicular pollen from honey clover cultivated in those soils. In gray forest average-loamy soils that had been affected by military actions, nitrogen content increased 6.3% thanks to cultivation of M. albus. High nitrogen content in soil improves its fertility. Cultivation of M. albus in affected soils promoted more intensive growth of the bee families, encouraging them to gather nectar more actively. As a result, this apiary produced greater amounts of honey, corbicular pollen, and bee pollen. The conducted studies revealed heightened levels of lead, cadmium, and zinc in the war-impacted agricultural land, compared with the territory beyond the impact zone. This caused increased content of heavy metals in corbicular pollen from M. albus. Contamination of corbicular pollen from M. albus manifested in excess over the allowable norms of cadmium, lead, and zinc. At the same time, the highest coefficient of transfer from soil into corbicular pollen was found for zinc. The high degree of contamination of the soil with heavy metals as a result of military action promoted a high level of ingress of lead and cadmium into the corbicular pollen, compared with the situation in clean territory. The study results expand the available data on biomonitoring of apiary products and foraging lands in contaminated areas. Analysis of the corbicular pollen and pollen can give information about the level of environmental contamination and help evaluate the ecological state of melliferous sites. Such a monitoring can be useful for decision making regarding the protection of the environment and healthcare.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Productivity of bee families and biomonitoring of corbicular pollen and war-affected honeybee foraging sites with cultivated honey clover (Melilotus albus)

Razanov,

Ibatulin,

Razanov

et al. 2024

Regul. Mech. Biosyst.

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Increasing road cover in urban areas is associated with greater midgut histological damage in a primitively eusocial bee

Ferrari,

Polidori,

Trisoglio

et al. 2024

Insect. Soc.

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Urbanisation is associated with air and soil pollution, particularly from heavy metals. One of the tissues most exposed to such pollutants is the midgut epithelium as insects may ingest these pollutants with food. Bees are one of the most important urban insects, providing important ecosystem services such as pollination. However, to the best of our knowledge, no studies have investigated the possible histological alterations to the midgut epithelium of bees caused by urbanisation. We sampled workers of the ground-nesting, primitively eusocial bee Halictus scabiosae in a large metropolis (Milan), with the aim to test if individuals from areas characterised by higher urbanisation and consequently higher pollution levels—defined here by a greater proportion of roads—exhibit greater histological tissue and cellular alterations in the midgut epithelium. We obtained semi-thin sections of the midgut through histological techniques, and then adopted a semi-quantitative approach to assess morphological damage. The midgut presented a range of histological alterations including epithelium disorganisation, vacuolisation, and nucleus karyorrhexis (one of the stages of cellular death). We found higher histological damage score (calculated taking into account all found alterations) and frequency of karyorrhectic nuclei in sites with a higher proportion of roads (i.e. more urbanised). The observed alterations may underline a potential impairment of the digestive function in highly urbanised areas.

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The Population Development of the Red Mason Bee, Osmia bicornis L., for Different Types of Nesting Materials

Zajdel,

Borański,

Kucharska

et al. 2024

Animals

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Osmia bicornis L. is a widespread and valued pollinator species. It is considered to be easy to breed, provided that the nesting material in which the bees build their nests is of sufficient quality and quantity. The aim of this study was to test several different types of nesting materials: reeds and commercial structures, including wood, MDF (Medium Density Fibreboard), plastic, paper or polystyrene. The highest levels of nest cavity occupancy were found in reeds (90%) and grooved MDF (over 80%). We have shown that maintaining mason bee colonies in polystyrene leads to reproductive losses (occupancy only 2% of nesting holes). Mason bees built the most cells in MDF (8.02 cells/hole) and wood (7.34 cells/hole), slightly fewer in plastic (6.83 cells/hole) and reeds (6.74 cells/hole), and the fewest in paper (3.67 cells/hole). The most cocoons per nest were obtained from reed (average 5.47), MDF (4.84) and plastic (4.74). We observed the highest mortality in plastic (2 larvae/hole), and the lowest in reeds (0.92 larvae/hole). In nests made of wood, MDF and paper, large nesting losses were caused by the migration of Ch. osmiae mites along and through the nest holes. The most hygienic nesting material turned out to be reed and plastic forms.

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Concentration of Heavy Metals in Pollen and Bees Osmia bicornis L. in Three Different Habitats in the Łowicz District in Central Poland

Cited by 3 publications

References 52 publications

Productivity of bee families and biomonitoring of corbicular pollen and war-affected honeybee foraging sites with cultivated honey clover (Melilotus albus)

Productivity of bee families and biomonitoring of corbicular pollen and war-affected honeybee foraging sites with cultivated honey clover (Melilotus albus)

Increasing road cover in urban areas is associated with greater midgut histological damage in a primitively eusocial bee

The Population Development of the Red Mason Bee, Osmia bicornis L., for Different Types of Nesting Materials

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