The international project INSIGNIA-EU has concluded, but its publications are still ongoing.
INSIGNIA-EU involved 10 European countries in a citizen science program to monitor pesticides, microplastics, heavy metals, and air pollutants.

The latest publication, in Environmental Technology & Innovation, focuses on the presence of synthetic acaricides in honey bee colonies.
The study finds that honey bees are frequently exposed to mixtures of miticides because treatments accumulate and are slowly released from beeswax. Despite resistance, European beekeepers still rely on synthetic miticides. Residues of coumaphos and tau-fluvalinate persist in wax for years, while amitraz and its by-products remain widely detected due to repeated treatments. These findings highlight the importance of managing wax quality through traceability, purification, or replacement within integrated pest management frameworks.

Read the paper full text ici.