Monitoring the Field-Realistic Exposure of Honeybee Colonies to Neonicotinoids by An Integrative Approach: A Case Study in Romania

Abstract

Honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) are excellent biosensors that can be managed to collect valuable information about environmental contamination. The main objective of the present study was to design and apply an integrative protocol to monitor honeybee colony activity and sample collection by using electronic technologies combined with classical methods in order to evaluate the exposure of honeybees to the neonicotinoids that are used in melliferous intensive crops. The monitored honeybee colonies were especially prepared and equipped to maximize their chances to collect representative samples in order to express, as well as possible, the pesticide residues that existed in the targeted crops. The samples of honey, pollen and honeybees were collected, preserved and prepared to fulfill the required quality and quantity criteria of the accredited laboratories. In total, a set of fifty samples was collected from fields, located in different areas of intensive agriculture in Romania, and was analyzed for five neonicotinoids. The obtained results show that 48% of the total analyzed samples (n = 50) contained one or more detected or quantified neonicotinoid residues. The main conclusion is that the proposed approach for sample collection and preparation could improve the evaluation methodologies for analyzing honeybees’ exposure to pesticides.

IoT-Driven Workflows for Risk Management and Control of Beehives

“…As a response to colony collapse disorder (CCD), where major decrease in honeybee colonies is reported all over the word [6][7][8], advancement in technology is playing a major role in preserving honeybee's species, pollination, and biodiversity sustainability [9,10]. In that context, Industry 4.0 and IoT technologies are playing a major role [11], where the use of sensors, networking, and artificial intelligence (AI) in addition to models, simulations, and process discovery are transforming current industrial processes [12][13][14].…”

Monitoring of Honey Bee Colony Losses: A Special Issue

“…Later, an integrative protocol was developed for monitoring the effects of field-realistic exposure of honey bees to neonicotinoids by monitoring honeybee colony activity along with electronic measurements of internal and external hive temperture and humidity as well as colony weight. It was found that quality samples preparation and follow up of honeybee colonies and honey/pollen flows can be successfully performed by using classic methods to monitor weather conditions; activities and population of colonies; weight gain; or contemporary technologies, including electronic sensors combined with the Internet of Things and big data storage [20].…”