In the course of 2021, more than 100,000 ha have been assessed, impacting nearly 3 million people. Initially mainly present in Belgium and France, our services now also extend to more than 10 European countries (Germany, England, Bulgaria, Poland, etc.), the United States and Africa.
From plant diversity to pollutant concentrations (pesticides, heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dioxins and furans, etc.), thousands of analyses were carried out this year.

Our colleagues the bees

Our measuring tool, BeeOmonitoring, based on the genius of nature and technology, allows us to cover large areas (+/- 700ha). The bees, like natural drones, collect samples from the environment by visiting up to 4 billion flowers per year per hive. The 2021 season was difficult for the bees in most of the regions where our projects take place due to the weather conditions, but this did not prevent our faithful colleagues from collecting the pollen needed for the analyses. In addition, across all projects, the bee mortality rate in 2021 is less than 10%.

The quality of biodiversity

All the pollen grains collected by the bees in their environment constitute the bees’ dietary diversity but also an important indicator of the plant biodiversity present in the territory. In total, 554 different plant species were identified during the 2021 season. On each territory, this plant diversity makes it possible to evaluate the quality of the habitat.
Some remarkable species were detected during the year, in particular the bog asphodel (Narthecium ossifragum (L.) Huds.), a small yellow-flowered plant typical of peat bogs, marshes and wet moors, bistort (Bistorta officinalis Delarbre) with its long pink flowers in a spike, which can be found in wet meadows if you are lucky, but is more common in the mountains, or the dwarf willow (Salix herbacea L.), a tree not exceeding 10 cm in height and present in cold areas.
The pollen analyses also make it possible to identify invasive plant species, one of the five causes of the decline in biodiversity worldwide. The four most frequently identified invasive species are: the butterfly bush (Buddleja davidii Franch.), which despite its name is detrimental to pollinators, Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera Royle), staghorn sumac (Rhus typhina L.) and cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus L.). These invasive alien species settle at the expense of the local flora and thus generate a loss of local biodiversity.
Finally, through palynological analyses, new crops emerging in our regions such as hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), sorghum (Sorghum sp. Moench) and buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) are found.

Agricultural pollutions

There are multiple ways in which bees are exposed to pesticides. Bees come into contact with pesticides by pollinating treated crops or field margins such as weeds, flower strips or neighbouring crops. It is also possible that a deposit is made in the air, if the bee is foraging at the time of spraying.