Abstract
Pesticide residues are usually determined by physical, chemical and biological methods. The simplicity and adaptability of bioassay methods have won their acceptance in the field of residue analysis. Theoretically, any organism that is susceptible to a pesticide may be used for its bioassay in any environmental sample. This means that such organism may serve as a bioindicator for the detection of certain pollutants. The susceptibility of honey bees (Apis melifera L.) to many insecticides commonly used in crop protection led to an attempt to use it as a bioindicator for the determination of residues of some insecticides in plant materials, as well as to detect toxicity hazards to honey bees of some commonly used insecticides. Results of this work which have been recently published may suggest "Yes" to answer the question posed in the title of this subject.