Pesticide residue profiles in bee bread and pollen samples and the survival of honeybee colonies—a case study from Luxembourg

Abstract

Pesticide residues (112 compounds) were quantified by GC-MS/MS or LC-MS/MS in 85 bee bread samples and 154 pollen samples obtained from five apiaries each with three or four colonies (genotype Buckfast) in Luxembourg over the period 2011–2013. Thiacloprid, chlorfenvinphos, tebuconazole, and methiocarb were found most frequently in bee bread while thiacloprid, permethrin-cis, and permethrin-trans were detected most frequently in the pollen samples. Three neonicotinoid insecticides (clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam) that were restricted by an EU regulation in 2013 after our sampling campaign was finished were each found in less than 8% of the pollen or bee bread samples. The maximum concentrations of thiacloprid, metazachlor, and methiocarb measured in the pollen collected by a group of honeybee colonies (n = 5) without survivors within the 3-year period of observation were 86.20 ± 10.74 ng/g, 2.80 ± 1.26 ng/g, and below the limit of quantification, respectively. The maximum concentrations of the same compounds measured in the pollen collected by a group of honeybee colonies with significantly (P = 0.02) more survivors (7 out of 9) than expected, if the survivors had been distributed randomly among the groups of colonies, were 11.98 ± 2.28 ng/g, 0.44 ± 0.29 ng/g, and 8.49 ± 4.13 ng/g, respectively. No honeybee colony that gathered pollen containing more than 23 ng/g thiacloprid survived the 3-year project period. There was no statistically significant association between pesticide residues in the bee bread and the survival of the colonies. Actions already taken or planned and potential further actions to protect bees from exposure to pesticides are discussed.