Based on established research, we know honey bees collect pesticides wherever they go. We also know that honey bees rarely travel beyond a 6-km radius from their hive. Thus, when constructing their nests, the resultant beeswax can function as a "fossil record" of what pesticides are present, within their foraging range. While beeswax, pollen, and honey have been analyzed for pesticides in the past, up until this point, most of those samples have come from commercial beekeepers who migrate across the country with trucks of hives pollinating agricultural areas.
This research explores the usefulness and viability of using "backyard" or hobbyist beekeepers in urban/suburban communities as a way to monitor the pesticides present in a community. Using two communities - Marin County, CA and Pittsburgh, PA - as a pilot case study, this project utilizes honey bees as a way to measure the pesticides present in our urban environment. These findings are evidence that for many hobbyist beekeepers, the most important factors affecting a colony’s exposure to pesticides are actions that remain within the control of the beekeeper rather than uncontrollable environmental inputs.
