Is organic beekeeping possible? A multi-year study of pesticide contamination and landscape effects in the Northeast US

Background: Honey bee colonies in the U.S. are widely contaminated with pesticides that harm colony health. A potential mitigation strategy is organic management, but formal apiculture standards have not been adopted. Draft guidelines require up to a 6.4 km pesticide-free foraging zone for certified colonies, which is more land than is likely to be available surrounding most apiaries. Understanding how organic management and landscape factors affect contamination in hive products is essential for developing feasible standards.Methods: We conducted two related studies on certified organic farms in New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. First, we compared pesticide contamination in honey from 72 organically managed colonies to 10 brands each of purchased organic and conventional honey, including 5 organic honey brands from Hawaii, the only place with organic honey certification in the US. Second, we screened pesticides in wax from 136 organically managed colonies (sampled in 2019 and 2024) and compared contamination to 49 conventionally managed colonies in New York. For both studies, we assessed how amounts of agricultural, seminatural, and developed habitat surrounding organically managed colonies influenced pesticide contamination within three potential foraging radii, including 3 and 6.4 km based on draft organic standards, and a smaller 1 km radius that is closer to the mean foraging distance of honey bees. Results: Organically managed colonies had lower contamination levels in both wax and honey compared to their conventional counterparts, primarily due to the absence of the synthetic miticide amitraz and its degradates. Honey from our organically managed colonies was comparable in contamination to purchased organic honey. Despite organic management, we detected low levels of synthetic miticides (amitraz, coumaphos) in honey and wax, likely from contaminated foundation wax, with 30% of purchased Hawaiian organic honey samples exceeding USDA maximum residue limits (MRLs). In organic colonies, wax contamination was positively associated with the proportion of surrounding seminatural habitat, not agricultural land. Landscape composition did not predict contamination in honey, and for wax, the smaller 1 km radius predicted residue loads similarly to the 3 and 6.4 km radii. Conclusions: While pesticide contamination is a concern for all beekeepers, organic management could potentially reduce exposure. Our results demonstrate that future organic standards need to reduce exposure routes to in-hive contaminants, such as foundation wax, and that maintaining several-kilometer pesticide-free foraging zones may not be as important as previously assumed. These findings demonstrate that producing honey and other hive products with low pesticide loads is achievable in the continental U.S. and underscore the need for formal, evidence-based organic apiculture standards.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S., Entomology

Level thesis:degree_level

Master of Science

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Entomology

Grantor

Cornell University

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• DeMoras, Benedict

Committee member dc:contributor.committeemember

• Poveda Morciniec, Katja

• Apis mellifera
• honey
• organic beekeeping
• pesticide contamination
• United States
• wax

Statement dc:rights

• Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International

Licence dc:rights.uri

• https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

DOI

https://doi.org/10.7298/mt05-xc97

Dc Identifier Other

ProQuest Submission ID: 12601
ProQuest Publication ID: 32245389

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ecommons.cornell.edu:1813/120973