Pitt study finds that bees are at risk of ingesting toxic
amounts of aluminum and nickel found in flowers growing in polluted soil
Beekeepers and researchers nationally are reporting growing
evidence that a powerful new class of pesticides may be killing off bumblebees.
Now, research at the University of Pittsburgh points toward another potential
cause: metal pollution from aluminum and nickel.
Published in the journal Environmental Pollution, the Pitt
study finds that bumblebees are at risk of ingesting toxic amounts of metals
like aluminum and nickel found in flowers growing in soil that has been
contaminated by exhaust from vehicles, industrial machinery, and farming
equipment. The Pitt study finds that bumblebees have the ability to taste—and
later ignore—certain metals such as nickel, but can do so only after they visit
a contaminated flower. Therefore, the insects are exposed to toxins before they
even sense the presence of metals.