Biomonitoring of particulate matter and volatile organic compounds using honey bees and their products. A contemporary overview

Airborne pollutants like particulate matter and volatile organic compounds can negatively impact microbial, plant, and animal life as well as human health. Traditional environmental monitoring, while crucial, often relies on expensive equipment at limited locations, leading to gaps in geographical coverage. To obtain a low-cost, easily deployed environmental monitoring grid, the use of European honey bees (Apis mellifera) as biomonitor can offer a promising alternative. Their extensive foraging in the landscape exposes them to environmental contaminants like particulate matter and organic compounds. Once collected, these pollutants are carried back into the hives, where they can subsequently be sampled and quantified using various techniques. This potentially makes honey bee colonies a cost-effective and valuable long-term monitoring tool for particulate matter and organic compounds. This review, through the critical insight of the most recent pertinent literature, explores the suitability of honey bees and their products as biomarkers for environmental monitoring of these pollutants, addressing sample preparation approaches and chemical analytical methods. Overall, the presented information will aid researchers in initiating further investigations in this pivotal field, incorporating additional chemicals and innovative, non-invasive sampling matrices compatible with the beehive environment.