Environmental exposures and chemical fate within the honey bee superorganism

Foraging honey bees are unintentionally exposed to a wide range of chemicals through various routes, such as oral ingestion of contaminated food, direct contact, and air exposure. Yet, the research on the cumulative effects of sublethal and multi-chemical exposures on key caste members, including the queen bee and brood, is still in its infancy and often hampered by the lack of sensitive analytical techniques to monitor chemical disposition and enhance the understanding of chemical fate and toxicity within the entire colony. The hive’s social structure and food-sharing (trophallaxis) practices are important aspects to consider when identifying exposure pathways for residential hive members and possible chemical reservoirs within the colony. Secondhand exposures may also occur through chemical transfer (maternal offloading) to the brood and by contact through possible chemical diffusion from wax cells to all hive members. The cellular targets of toxicants are understudied, but combined applications of modern in silico/in vitro/in vivo analysis could offer rapid progress in understanding mechanisms and developing effective mitigation strategies for toxic chemical accumulation. To improve current risk assessment strategies, it is crucial to consider both the intricate interactions among hive members and the potential synergistic effects of chemical mixtures and their metabolites.