Deposition of cadmium in tissues of Coturnix quail fed honey bees

In the work reported here, domesticated honey bees were found to contain appreciable levels of cadmium. The bees were collected in quantity and fed to Coturnix quail to study the extent to which an avian species may accumulate cadmium in liver and kidney as well as in their eggs. In summary, it appears that if insects, in general, contain concentrations of cadmium comparable to those of the honey bees used in this study, their consumption by wild birds could constitute an appreciable source of deposited cadmium in avian tissues.