Honey bees and other Apoidea insects as bioindicators of the effect of pesticides and environmental contaminants: case studies in Piedmont

Pollen can be used as a tool to identify plants visited by bees and also provides information about the source of poisoning in case of contamination. Pollen analyses allow previous mortality events in Apis mellifera to be connected to present ones, a technique that has been shown to be effective in explaining many mortality events in Piedmont. Since vapour toxic to bees can be released during the sowing of pesticide-coated seeds and can affect blooming plants, this survey method is being used by the authors in research activities focusing on the action of neonicotinoids. The use of a microcosm as an innovative research tool has allowed the verification of the lethal effects of toluene and carbon monoxide, and the chitin synthesis inhibitor teflubenzuron, on megachilids (Apoidea, Megachilidae). The verification of the validity of these research tools enables honeybees and other Apoidea insects to be used as reliable bioindicators of environmental quality, pesticide action patterns and other contaminants that would otherwise be very difficult to detect.