RDE 395 - Pesticides in honey - analysis of urban honey samples

This package should: • Sub-set honey samples from the 2022 National Honey Monitoring Scheme archive to include samples from May and October, selected from urban dominated landscapes (50 overall) but spanning a gradient of urbansiation. • Quantify residues in these honey samples for key herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides. • Calculate and assess risk quotients for urban honeybee hives, assess what factors may be driving this risk and how this changes over time and across urban gradients, and compare pesticide profiles with those detected in hives from agricultural dominated landscapes. • Integrate eDNA analysis to identify potential pesticide exposure pathways / high risk plant communities in urban environments.

This contract was awarded by DEFRA.