Climate change, air pollution, and risks to honeybees – a review of biomonitoring data

Abstract

Environmental pollution and climate change are among the biggest concerns of the World population and represent an increased risk for the survival of very sensitive animals and insects, including honeybees. Environmental health monitoring can be performed through the biomonitorization of sentinel species. Honeybees are essential pollinators for global sustainale terrestrial productivity. This work presents a global overview of the available information on biomonitoring of honeybees and identifies the most characterized environmental pollutants. Available data clearly demonstrate the presence of different metals (arsenic, nickel, cadmium, lead, etc.), PAHs (naphthalene, acenapthylene, acenaphthene, fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, pyrene, chrysene, benzo(a)pyrene, benz(a)anthracene, isomers of benzofluoranthene, indeno(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene, and dibenz(a,h)anthracene), polychlorinated biphenyls, plasticizers residues, and microplastics on bees. The contamination of bees was increased near urban areas and/or locals with increased anthropization. Biomonitoring of bees allows the identification of local sources of pollution in the surroundings of beehives (e.g., urban traffic emissions, forest fires, and agriculture). Additional studies are needed to better characterize the impact of environmental pollutants on bees.