Bioaccumulation of Persistent Halogenated Organic Pollutants in Insects: Common Alterations to the Pollutant Pattern for Different Insects during Metamorphosis

Few studies have examined the accumulation and fate of persistent halogenated organic pollutants (HOPs) in insects. We measured HOPs, including dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), polychlorinated biphenyls, and halogenated flame retardants, in insects from four taxonomic groups collected from an e-waste site. Dragonfly larvae collected from a pond contained the highest concentrations of all chemicals except DDTs, while the litchi stinkbugs contained the lowest. Different insect taxa exhibited different contaminant patterns which could be attributed to their habitats and feeding strategies. Bioaccumulation factors for dragonfly larvae and biomagnification factors for moth and grasshopper larvae were significantly positively correlated with the octanol–water partition coefficient of the chemicals (log <i>K</i>_OW < 8). Common nonlinear correlations between the ratio of larval to adult concentrations and log <i>K</i>_OW were observed for all taxa studied. The ratio of concentrations decreased with increasing values of log <i>K</i>_OW (log <i>K</i>_OW < 6–6.5), then increased (6 < log <i>K</i>_OW < 8) and decreased again (log <i>K</i>_OW > 8). This result implies that the mechanism that regulates organic pollutants in insects during metamorphosis is common to all the taxa studied