## 1 Introduction  
Globalization has allowed agricultural production to grow much faster than in the past. Despite the benefits--above all, economic--derived from intensive farming, many studies have demonstrated the harmful effects caused to the health of people directly and indirectly exposed to the pesticides used to protect crops [1; 2; 3; 4; 5]. Pesticides are used to control various pests and disease carriers in order to keep crops healthy. Before an active substance can be used in a plant protection product (PPP), it must be approved through a rigorous evaluation process, including risk assessments for human health and the environment. The use of pesticides is governed in the European Union by Regulation (EC) No. 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market, repealing Council Directives 79/117/EEC and 91/414/EEC [6]. This regulation has since been further amended. Regulation (EC) No. 396/2005 provides indications on the maximum residue levels of pesticides in or on food and feed of plant and animal origin [7]. Human exposure to these contaminants can be acute or chronic, depending on the type of contact occurring for professional, dietary or environmental reasons. Pathologies related to pesticide exposure can take various forms, as tumors and neurodegenerative, respiratory, reproductive, developmental, and metabolic diseases [1; 2; 8]. A biomonitoring program could be a useful approach to assess the uptake and potential health risks caused by direct and indirect exposure to these environmental contaminants. Biomonitoring is the use of living organisms to collect information about the surrounding environment. Honey bees (_Apis mellifera_) are highly sensitive to most chemicals and are a well-known indicator of environmental pollution [9; 10; 11; 12; 13]. Honey bees commonly feed within 1.5 km and, exceptionally, up to 10-12 km of their hive, depending on their need for food and its availability [14]. Limiting factors are the need for optimal weather conditions for foraging (20-25 \({}^{\circ}\)C and dry weather) [10]. Furthermore, below 7-10 \({}^{\circ}\)C, honey bees show the tendency to remain in the hive, and above 38 \({}^{\circ}\)C, their activity decreases due to heat [10]. During flights and foraging activity, their hair-covered body causes electrical charge accumulation on its surface due to friction with the air, favoring the attraction of airborne substances, including pollen and pollutants [15; 16]. During foraging flights, honey bees collect pollen, nectar, plant resins, honeydew and water, which are taken into the hive and stored, being at the same time also valid \"samplers\" of organic and inorganic chemicals in the environment, which they bring back to the colony [17; 18]. Finally, they are easy insects to breed, having modest dietary needs and being almost ubiquitous [19]. Hence, honey bees (and their products) are reliable ecological detectors, and many studies have shown their feasibility as bioindicators of environmental pollution by pesticides [18; 19; 20], heavy metals [21; 22; 23; 24], radionuclides [25; 26], polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons [17; 27], and other pollutants, such as brominated flame retardants [28], vehicle-derived ultrafine particulate [29], and microplastics [30]. Honey bees can be considered a living monitoring system of various aspects of the ecosystem since their health is influenced by multiple environmental factors, both natural and mediated by human activity [31], such as climate trends, quick reduction in the areas where plants used by bees as a source of nectar or pollen are grown, bee diseases and infestation with _Varroa destructor_, in particular, phytosanitary treatments, and beekeeping practices [32]. In recent decades, a decline in honey bee colonies has been reported by beekeepers from around the world [20; 33].