While foraging for nectar, pollen and water, honey bees are constantly picking up contaminants from their environment. In these role, they are biomonitors.
- Because we know their lifespan and approximate foraging range, chemical analysis can provide a snapshot of the levels of contaminants in their foraging area at that time.
- Biomonitors are organisms that accumulate contaminants in their tissues and can be used to yield a relative measure of the total amount of contaminants in the environment integrated over a period of time.
- They respond simultaneously to different stressors, providing quantitative information on the quality of the environment.
- Some of the biomonitors: honey bees, house sparrows and birds of prey.
