Bumblebees play an important role in the pollination process of many crops and flowers. Therefore, taking action to protect and assess the impact of pesticides on these insects is fully justified. Pesticides may cause mortality and also sub-lethal effects that are not always directly visible. Bumblebees, like honeybees, can be used as indicators for environmental monitoring contamination. Two approaches are mainly used for the determination of pesticide residues in pollinating insects: a toxicological test (to know effects) and multi-stage analytical methodologies (to know exposure). The development of new analytical procedures that would use of sample preparation techniques meeting the requirements of green chemistry or the improvement of existing analytical methods; this is a challenge for analytical chemists. However, such activities can be helpful in developing legal norms regarding the maximum residue levels of pesticides in wild bee organisms.
Keywords: Bumblebees; environmental monitoring; pesticide residues.