Scientists Say Urban Bees Are Using Plastic to Build Hives

Posted on February 14, 2014

Scientists from the University of Guelph (U of G) have made a fascinating discovered. They discovered urban bees using plastic materials to construct their nests. The scientists report that two urban bee species have been using pieces of plastic bags and plastic building materials. The research was published in the journal Ecosphere.

Scott MacIvor, the lead author of study, a doctoral student at York University and a 2008 U of G graduate, says in the announcement, "Plastic waste pervades the global landscape. We found two solitary bee species using plastic in place of natural nest building materials, which suggests innovative use of common urban materials."

U of G's Andrew Moore, supervisor of analytical microscopy at Laboratory Services, analyzed portions of the nest in the lab using x-ray microanalysis and infrared microscopy. Moore found one type of bee, Megachile campanulae, was occasionally replacing plant resins with polyurethane-based exterior building sealant, such as caulking. The bees were using the caulking material in its brood cells, where larva is raised.

Another bee, Megachile rotundata, was founded using pieces of plastic bags to build brood cells. The plastic replaced about 25% of the cut leaves these leafcutter bees normally build their nests with. Moore says the bees were chewing up the plastic like chewing gum before using it as nest building material. He also says leaves are not hard to find in the area, so it appears the bees are seeking out the plastic material.

Moore says, "The plastic materials had been gathered by the bees, and then worked - chewed up and spit out like gum - to form something new that they could use."

The researchers say bee larvae successfully developed from the plastic nests. The researchers also found the bees emerged parasite-free, which suggests the plastic may help keep out bee parasites.

MacIvor adds, "The novel use of plastics in the nests of bees could reflect the ecologically adaptive traits necessary for survival in an increasingly human-dominated environment."

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