Honey bees play a crucial role in the nature by pollinating wild flowers. Over the past years, there has been an increasing concern regarding the honey bee colony decline. Pesticides or environmental effects targeting the biochemistry of insect chitin and cuticle coating may be in part responsible for honey bee pathologies. We here propose the use of electron paramagnetic resonance imaging (EPRI) as a tool to image the melanin–chitin complexes as part of the exoskeleton of the honey bee. EPRI at 9.65 GHz was applied on intact freeze-dried bees. The imaging data were collected on the melanin peak. High-resolution images revealed that this compound is extensively distributed in the periphery of the animal, data consistent with the localization in the cuticle of the bee. While EPR of melanin has been so far explored in the context of melanoma characterization, it may offer new opportunities in research on honey bees and other insects.

中文翻译：

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蜜蜂黑色素的电子顺磁共振成像。

蜜蜂通过为野花授粉而在自然界中发挥着至关重要的作用。在过去的几年里，人们越来越关注蜜蜂群落的减少。针对昆虫几丁质和角质层涂层的生物化学的杀虫剂或环境影响可能是造成蜜蜂病理的部分原因。我们在这里建议使用电子顺磁共振成像 (EPRI) 作为一种工具，将黑色素 - 几丁质复合物作为蜜蜂外骨骼的一部分进行成像。9.65 GHz 的 EPRI 应用于完整的冻干蜜蜂。在黑色素峰上收集成像数据。高分辨率图像显示这种化合物广泛分布在动物的外围，数据与蜜蜂角质层中的定位一致。