Development and comparison of two multi-residue methods for the analysis of select pesticides in honey bees, pollen, and wax by gas chromatography–quadrupole mass spectrometry

• Pesticide exposure has been linked with honey bee population losses.
• Reliable multi-residue analytical methods are needed for trace pesticide analysis.
• Two sample preparation methods were tested: GPC and d-SPE with Z-Sep.
• Z-Sep cleanup was the preferred method and was successful with field-collected media.

One of the hypotheses that may help explain the loss of honey bee colonies worldwide is the increasing potential for exposure of honey bees to complex mixtures of pesticides. To better understand this phenomenon, two multi-residue methods based on different extraction and cleanup procedures have been developed, and compared for the determination of 11 relevant pesticides in honey bees, pollen, and wax by gas chromatography–quadrupole mass spectrometry. Sample preparatory methods included solvent extraction followed by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) cleanup and cleanup using a dispersive solid-phase extraction with zirconium-based sorbents (Z-Sep). Matrix effects, method detection limits, recoveries, and reproducibility were evaluated and compared. Method detection limits (MDL) of the pesticides for the GPC method in honey bees, pollen, and wax ranged from 0.65 to 5.92 ng/g dw, 0.56 to 6.61 ng/g dw, and 0.40 to 8.30 ng/g dw, respectively, while MDLs for the Z-Sep method were from 0.33 to 4.47 ng/g dw, 0.42 to 5.37 ng/g dw, and 0.51 to 5.34 ng/g dw, respectively. The mean recoveries in all matrices and at three spiking concentrations ranged from 64.4% to 149.5% and 71.9% to 126.2% for the GPC and Z-Sep methods, with relative standard deviation between 1.5–25.3% and 1.3–15.9%, respectively. The results showed that the Z-Sep method was more suitable for the determination of the target pesticides, especially chlorothalonil, in bee hive samples. The Z-Sep method was then validated using a series of field-collected bee hive samples taken from honey bee colonies in Virginia.

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