Thursday, July 2, 2026
Science

Honeybee queens push pesticides to eggs to protect themselves over their offspring, research reveals

Worker bees are the first line of defense when it comes to removing contamination in honeybee colonies, but a queen has her ways, too. A honeybee queen facing chronic exposure to pesticides will take up that contamination and pass it along to her eggs, a process researchers call maternal offloading.

Honeybee queens push pesticides to eggs to protect themselves over their offspring, research reveals
Image: Phys.org
Worker bees are the first line of defense when it comes to removing contamination in honeybee colonies, but a queen has her ways, too. A honeybee queen facing chronic exposure to pesticides will take up that contamination and pass it along to her eggs, a process researchers call maternal offloading.

Originally published at Phys.org

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