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Honeybees as sentinels of microplastic pollution: a meta-analysis of accumulation, toxicity, and biomonitoring potential
Summary
This review pulled together findings from 139 studies showing that honeybees pick up microplastics (tiny plastic bits) from the environment, and these particles can end up in honey, pollen, and wax, products many people eat or use daily. Because bees fly over large areas and are sensitive to pollution, scientists suggest using them as living "pollution detectors" to track microplastic contamination in the environment, which could also signal risks to the food we eat and the crops bees pollinate. More research is still needed to understand exactly how harmful long-term microplastic exposure is to bees and, by extension, to us.
Microplastics (MPs), tiny plastic particles less than 5 millimeters in size have become a global environmental concern, infiltrating various ecosystems, including those inhabited by honeybees.Here, we synthesized, with a PRISMA approach, the evidence from 139 peer-reviewed studies to critically evaluate (1) the presence of MPs in honeybees and their hive products, such as honey, wax and pollen, (2) the lethal and sublethal effects of MPs in honeybees that in turn potentially impair their pollination services and food security, and (3) given their extensive foraging range and sensitivity to environmental changes, honeybees can serve as effective bioindicators for monitoring MPs pollution.By analyzing the presence of MPs in bees and their hive products, researchers can assess the level of environmental contamination in a given area.Advanced spectroscopic techniques, such as Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) and Raman spectroscopy, are used for their precision in MPs detection.This review proposes a standardized honeybee-based biomonitoring framework to integrate MPs data into predictive models.Future research must refine MPs detection methodologies, assess chronic exposure impacts on honeybee populations, and translate findings into actionable policy interventions, reinforcing the "One Health" paradigm.In summary, we believe that the interaction between honeybees and MPs is a growing area of research.Understanding how MPs accumulate in bees and their products, assessing the potential health effects on bee populations, and utilizing bees as environmental monitors are crucial steps toward addressing the broader implications of MPs pollution on ecosystems and agriculture.