High Level of Pesticides Discovered in Beehives

"An analysis by Penn State researchers of beehive wax has shown unprecedented levels of fluvalinate and coumaphos - pesticides used in the hives to combat varroa mites - in all hive samples. The researchers also found lower levels of 70 other pesticides (used to protect agricultural crops) and metabolites of those pesticides in pollen and bees.

"Everyone figured that the acaricides (anti-varroa mite chemicals) would be present in the wax because the wax is reprocessed to form the structure of the hives. It was a bit of a shock to see the levels and the widespread presence of these [other] pesticides," Penn's Maryann Frazier told the 236th American Chemical Society meeting."

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