Field agrochemical exposure impacts locomotor activity in wild bumblebees.

Agricultural intensification has been identified as one of the key causes of global insect biodiversity losses. These losses have been further linked to the widespread use of agrochemicals associated with modern agricultural practices. Many of these chemicals are known to have negative sublethal effects on commercial pollinators, such as managed honeybees and bumblebees, but less is known about the impacts on wild bees.

Pesticide contamination of beeswax from managed honey bee colonies in New York State.

The New York State (NYS) beekeeping industry generated >$11M worth of honey in 2020 and >$300M in pollination services to agriculture annually. Bees are frequently exposed to pesticides through foraging and husbandry practices. Lipophilic pesticides can remain in beeswax for extended periods.

Wild bees are exposed to low levels of pesticides in urban grasslands and community gardens.

Globally documented wild bee declines threaten sustainable food production and natural ecosystem functioning. Urban environments are often florally abundant, and consequently can contain high levels of pollinator diversity compared with agricultural environments. This has led to the suggestion that urban environments are an increasingly important habitat for pollinators.

Quantifying exposure of bumblebee (Bombus spp.) queens to pesticide residues when hibernating in agricultural soils.

Exposure to pesticides is a major threat to bumblebee (Bombus spp.) health. In temperate regions, queens of many bumblebee species hibernate underground for several months, putting them at potentially high risk of exposure to soil contaminants.