Earth’s magnetic field (MF) plays an important role for many species, including the honeybee, in navigation. Nowadays, much larger alternating fields are emitted by miscellaneous electric infrastructure components, such as transformers and power lines, and the environment is therefore polluted by an anthropogenic electromagnetic field, though little is known regarding its impact on living organisms. The behavior of animals is the first and easiest way to establish the impact of stress. It shows if the animal can detect the exposure and react to it. To investigate this, one-day-old bees were exposed to a 50 Hz magnetic field of induction at 1 mT and 1.7 mT for 10 min, 1 h, and 3 h under laboratory conditions. All groups exposed to the magnetic field showed differences in behavioral patterns. What is more, they presented a behavior absent in the control: loss of balance. There were differences, both in the ratio of behaviors and in the number of bouts—exposed bees more often changed behavior. Occurrence of differences is an indication of the reaction of the honeybee organism to the magnetic field. Loss of balance is a disturbing symptom, and behavior changes indicate a disturbance of the honeybee by the electromagnetic field.

The honey bee is an important pollinator. In the environment, it can be exposed to many harmful factors, such as pesticides. Nowadays, attention is paid to evaluating the potentially harmful effects of these substances. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of worst-case environmental concentrations of pesticide mixtures on honey bee survival and selected physiological markers (the activity of ALT, AST, ALP, and GGTP, and the concentration of albumin, creatinine, urea, and uric acid). Pesticides of three different groups (insecticide—acetamiprid, herbicide—glyphosate, and fungicide—tebuconazole) and their mixtures were resolved in 50% (w/v) sucrose solution and given to bees ad libitum. After 24 h, hemolymph was collected. All mixtures caused higher mortality than single pesticides. Pesticides in mixtures caused disturbances in biochemical markers, and in some cases the interaction between pesticides was synergistic. The mixtures had individual effects on physiology, and the results were sensitive to changes in proportions.

The honey bee obtains food from bee forage, which comprises crops grown in multi-hectare agricultural fields where various types of plant protection products such as pesticides are used. Some of these negatively affect the honey bee organism. In our research, we aimed to evaluate the effects of three pesticide groups: fungicides (tebuconazole), insecticides (acetamiprid), herbicides (glyphosate), and their mixtures on the functioning of honey bee workers (A. mellifera carnica). Pesticides in various proportions and dilutions were added to sugar syrups and then fed to the bees. Mortality and food intake were recorded daily, while hemolymph analysis was performed after seven days of exposure. Food intake, mortality, and the results of various biochemical analyses differed between the experimental group and the control group receiving untreated sugar syrup. PPP’s mixture of glyphosate tebuconazole and acetamiprid is more toxic to bees than single pesticides. Certain protection products such as pesticides can disrupt the antioxidant and detoxification systems associated with immunity in honey bees. Consequently, honey bees experience weaker conditions and their proper functioning deteriorates. The results obtained from biochemical changes provide a basis for field studies.

The development of wireless technology and the desire to improve communication electromagnetic fields (EMFs) of various frequencies have become common across the honey bee’s foraging landscape. There has been discussion for many years about the possible impact of electromagnetic fields on living organisms. Artificial radio fields emit frequencies ranging from 100 kHz to 300 GHz. The presented research aimed to demonstrate the influence of the radiofrequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) with a frequency of 900 MHz on the behavior of honey bees in laboratory conditions. For this experiment, we used wooden cages to house honey bee workers immediately after they emerged. Bee workers were divided into control and experimental groups. Bees in the control group were not exposed to RF fields, while the experimental groups were exposed to 900 MHz electromagnetic fields of different intensities and durations of exposure. Bees’ behavior was analyzed with an appropriate computer program. Behavioral analysis of bees was performed immediately after exposure and seven days after exposure. Our research has shown that the radio field (900 MHz) affects the behavior of bees compared to the control group, although not all results are statistically significant. Significant effects were observed seven days after exposure in walking, flight, and individual contact. However, it is worth extending the study to include the impact of an RF-EMF on the expression of genes responsible for bee behavior.

Honey bees are constantly exposed to various environmental threats, among which pesticide pollution, including fungicides, is one of the most serious. The bees were 3 days old when they received the experimental solution. This study aimed to evaluate the behavior and mortality of honey bee workers exposed to a commercial formulation of the fungicide tebuconazole (Tebu^® EW, a.i. 25.8%; HELM, Hamburg, Germany). The experiment was conducted under laboratory conditions and lasted 7 days for all experimental groups. The fungicide solution was prepared by adding 6.25 mL of Tebu^® EW per 1 L of water, corresponding to 156.25 mg of tebuconazole (active ingredient) in the prepared solution of sugar syrup. The solution was served in 5 mL dispensers (=group feeding) placed in the cages. This concentration was used for the acute-exposure group (24 h). After 24 h bees were supplied with untreated sugar syrup for the remainder of the experiment. For the chronic-exposure group (168 h), the solution was a 1000-fold dilution of the acute solution, containing 0.15625 mg tebuconazole, dissolved in sugar syrup, provided continuously for 7 days with daily replacement. After 7 days, bee behavior was recorded using a camera and analyzed with Noldus Observer XT software (12.5: Windows 7 64-bit (SP1) version) Five basic honey bee behaviors were examined: walking, flight, self-grooming, contact between individuals and stillness. The results showed statistically significant differences between the experimental groups and the control group (α = 0.05) in the duration of walking, contact between individuals and self-grooming, and the frequency of walking and flight. This was particularly evident for self-grooming; the longer the group was exposed to tebuconazole, the less time the bees spent on this behavior (the acute group spent 47% less time self-grooming and the chronic group spent 88.8% less time self-grooming compared to the control group). Meanwhile, the frequency of walking and flying increased significantly with increasing exposure. No significant differences were observed in the survival between the groups. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that the fungicide containing tebuconazole significantly affects the behavior of honey bee workers.

The effects of fungicides on pollinators remain relatively understudied despite their widespread use and high likelihood of environmental exposure. We assessed the effects of a single exposure to the commercial formulation Tebucur^® 250 EW (containing tebuconazole as the active ingredient) on learning and memory in Bombus terrestris workers. Using the Free-Moving Proboscis Extension Response (FMPER) paradigm, bees were exposed to two concentrations: 9.4 µg of tebuconazole per mL (group T 1/100) and 94 ng of tebuconazole per mL (group T/10,000) of tebuconazole through either pure sucrose (Method 1) or Tebucur^® 250 EW-supplemented sucrose (Method 2) during conditioning. No significant differences between groups were detected during the learning phase (all p > 0.05). In contrast, significant differences emerged during the memory test at the earliest time point (5 min). In Method 1, bees exposed to the higher concentration (treatment group T 1/100) showed significantly lower performance compared to the control group (p < 0.05). In Method 2, the lowest performance was observed in the group exposed to the lower concentration (treatment group T 1/10,000; p < 0.01). No significant differences were detected at later time points (10 and 30 min). These results indicate that a single exposure to Tebucur^® 250 EW (active ingredient: tebuconazole, 250 g/L) can affect short-term memory in bumblebees without impairing initial learning performance. Although the observed effects were subtle and time-limited, they may have important implications for foraging efficiency and pollination under natural conditions.