Microplastics accumulate in bees

Microplastics on land, in the oceans, in the air … these little pieces of plastic are more ubiquitous than science believed. Now, according to a new study led by Danish researchers, microplastics have become inseparable companions in the body of bees.

Now, a team of scientists from the University of Almería in collaboration with researchers from the University of Alcalá de Henares and the Danish Beekeepers Association, have detected microplastics in the body of bees for the first time in a study with more than 4,000 bees workers from 19 hives in central Copenhagen and from suburban and rural areas of Denmark.

And it is that the body of these insects is covered by hairs that allow to contain small particles that the bee collects either intentionally or not . The hairs are electrostatically charged as they fly, which helps attract the particles, which is usually pollen. However, this new study suggests that bees are trapping not only pollen on their bodies, but also microplastics.

What kinds of waste stick to bees?

Research has shown up to 13 different synthetic polymers in the body of bees, according to work published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

These particles are about one micron in size , of which 52% were fragments and about 38% fibers. Of the 13 synthetic polymers found in bees, the most common type was polyester, used primarily as a synthetic fiber, followed by polyethylene and polyvinyl chloride.

Which bees had the most microplastics?

The city bees had more microplastics, but not much more compared to the field bees, indicating that wind dispersal acts as a key factor, traveling in the atmosphere and depositing around the world. They travel the jet stream and travel across continents, leading to a global plastic cycle as microplastics permeate the environment.

Therefore, the source of these microplastics is unclear, as evidence has shown that microplastic contamination is present in air, soil, and water. It is quite possible that airborne fibers adhere to these insects and microplastics also end up in the honey consumed in swarms and ultimately ingested by humans.

The bees would thus act as excellent environmental pollution trackers – within a radius of eight kilometers from their hives – while they collect pollen and the particles adhere to their thorax, abdomen, wings and legs. In fact, the researchers believe that examining the amount of plastic pollution at the end of the bees’ life would serve to identify the amount of microplastics present in the environment and where they came from.

Do microplastics harm bees?

Is honey in danger? And them? The study suggests that we lack data to be able to properly answer these questions, so the effect of microplastics on bee colonies, especially honeybees, is unknown.

Reference: Carlos Edo, Amadeo R. Fernández-Alba, Flemming Vejsnæs, Jozef JM van der Steen, Francisca Fernández-Piñas, Roberto Rosal, Honeybees as active samplers for microplastics, Science of The Total Environment, Volume 767, 2021, 144481, ISSN 0048-9697, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.144481.