Bees helping to monitor air quality

Using bees for biomonitoring of environmental health around airports is a recent development, but insects have been used successfully for some time to monitor water quality at a number of sites.

The honey produced at the airports is tested in the laboratory twice a year for heavy metals and certain hydrocarbons, and has so far been found to be comparable to honey produced in non-industrial areas. Volker Liebig, a chemist with Orga Lab, which tests the samples, said more data is needed over a longer period for the results to be conclusive, but he said preliminary results looked promising.

Source: physorg.comAdded: 15 July 2010