Honeybees as vectors of GM oilseed rape pollen

One hive of honey bees, placed 800 m from a GM OSR crop, was studied to det ermine the extent of mixing of pollen taking place. In a one hour period, t en types of pollen were collected with OSR, rosebay willowherb and clover p redominating. A combination of cytological analysis and PCR tests demonstra ted that OSR pollen was spread through pollen loads of different types. Thi s was likely to be due to worker bees switching crops between foraging trip s, or surface contamination within the hive between worker bees returning f rom different crops. The presence of GM pollen in largely non-GM Brassica p ollen loads, and the generation of mixed GM and non-GM progeny following th e pollination of male sterile plants with pollen from single bees, demonstr ates directly that bees can readily spread OSR pollen around their foraging area.