The study, published in the Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation, notes that people may be similarly exposed through contaminated honey, pollen and wax in cosmetics. Though the chemicals found in wax are not beneficial to humans, the small amounts in these products are unlikely to pose a major risk to human health, as compared to their impact on bees. Bees reuse wax over years, causing chemicals to accumulate, including those that are no longer in use in New York but remain in beeswax.

Toxic residues get into beeswax from nectar and pollen of plants that have been sprayed with pesticides, and from drugs and pesticides that beekeepers apply to hives to improve bee health. Pesticides were found in all 72 managed honeybee colony samples analyzed and researchers tallied up to 34 fungicides, 33 insecticides and 22 herbicides, with each wax sample averaging about 18 residues. Wax sent by commercial beekeepers contained the most residues.

Researchers found that The most common chemicals, found in 86% of samples, were acaricides -- a class of insecticides that beekeepers use to protect honeybees from varroa mites. These mites are associated with very high bee losses over winter. Understanding which contaminants are impacting domestic honeybees may help researchers better protect other pollinators, including wild bees and other insects, as well as birds and bats.