High Levels of Miticides and Agrochemicals in North American Apiaries: Implications for Honey Bee Health

Recent declines in honey bees for crop pollination threaten fruit, nut, vegetable and seed production in the United States. A broad survey of pesticide residues was conducted on samples from migratory and other beekeepers across 23 states, one Canadian province and several agricultural cropping systems during the 2007-08 growing seasons.We have used LC/MS-MS and GC/MS to analyze bees and hive matrices for pesticide residues utilizing a modified...