The study shows that bees and the pollen they collect are ideal for monitoring environmental toxins. "PFAS was detected in quantifiable quantities in almost all of the bees and pollen we examined," reports Jörg Feldmann. This means that the measured concentrations always provide up-to-date information on the occurrence of environmental toxins," explains biologist Robert Brodschneider. "On average, bees in the hive had the highest sum of all concentrations, followed by forager bees and pollen," the researcher continues. "We were able to show that forager bees introduce PFAS into the hive either via their bodies or via nectar and pollen," says Müller.