Presence of Hidden Threats in Beeswax: Pesticides and Chemicals
Poster Number
21B
Format
Poster Presentation
Faculty Mentor Name
Mark Brunell
Faculty Mentor Department
Biological Sciences
Abstract/Artist Statement
As honey bee populations continue to decline, a large role to ensure the pollination of our essential crops is lost. Without bee pollination, we risk the loss of greater genetic diversity and the production of stronger and healthier plants. It has been speculated that the decline in bee populations has been due to the use of chemical pesticides in commercial crops today, but in order to confirm the presence of these deadly chemicals, mass spectrometry was used in order to identify specific pesticides in beeswax.
By modifying given procedures, we were better able to understand how to test beeswax and analyze the data that resulted from these tests. In the future, knowing the specific pesticides present in hives that have diminishing populations will bring us a step closer to preventing this decline. Overall, it is important to understand the role honey bees in our agriculture and to seek out methods to examine how the pesticides are affecting bee populations.
Location
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
Start Date
29-4-2017 1:00 PM
End Date
29-4-2017 3:00 PM
Presence of Hidden Threats in Beeswax: Pesticides and Chemicals
DeRosa University Center, Ballroom
As honey bee populations continue to decline, a large role to ensure the pollination of our essential crops is lost. Without bee pollination, we risk the loss of greater genetic diversity and the production of stronger and healthier plants. It has been speculated that the decline in bee populations has been due to the use of chemical pesticides in commercial crops today, but in order to confirm the presence of these deadly chemicals, mass spectrometry was used in order to identify specific pesticides in beeswax.
By modifying given procedures, we were better able to understand how to test beeswax and analyze the data that resulted from these tests. In the future, knowing the specific pesticides present in hives that have diminishing populations will bring us a step closer to preventing this decline. Overall, it is important to understand the role honey bees in our agriculture and to seek out methods to examine how the pesticides are affecting bee populations.