Honeybee populations managed by beekeepers are “far too insufficient” to keep up with the world’s pollination demands, according to an analysis of data stretching back 30 years.
The beekeeping industry is growing, but at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and his colleagues discovered that demand for the services the bees provide is growing even faster.
Their analysis suggests that, in 1989, the global honeybee stock could supply around 56.9 per cent of demand. But this had declined to 44.1 per cent by 2019 because demand for pollination grew 2.3 times faster than the number of colonies kept by beekeepers.
Advertisement
Oil crops, such as soybean and rapeseed, are driving the growing demand for honeybee pollination. Such crops are predominantly grown in monocultures over large areas, resulting in biodiversity loss and overreliance on managed bee stocks.
“An insufficient number of managed honeybees will likely be unable to supply sufficient pollination services in agricultural ecosystems,” says An. “The resultant effect of this shortfall is low yields in crops dependent on these pollinators, which will exacerbate the current food and nutritional deficiency.”
Pressures on honeybee colonies from disease and parasites are already presenting severe challenges to beekeepers, says at the University of Reading, UK, whose research looking at managed honeybees in Europe was used as a source for calculations in the new work. He adds that a push for low-cost honey is also reducing incentives for large-scale commercial beekeeping operations.
“What this really demonstrates is how reliant we are on wild pollinators. Honeybees are not enough; we have to lean on wild pollinators, but they are subjected to all manner of different pressures,” says Breeze.
A , in the UK pointed out that there are additional complicating factors. Beekeeping is becoming popular in urban centres including London, but with relatively few flowers to support the honeybee population, they are now competing with wild pollinators including native bumblebees.
“Honeybees are an incredibly valuable backup, especially for multi-hectare crop plantations that need pollination, where you’re not going to get enough wild bees,” says Breeze. “We need to have a resilient pollination system – and that means having both wild and managed pollinators.”
Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment
Sign up to Wild Wild Life, a free monthly newsletter celebrating the diversity and science of animals, plants and Earth’s other weird and wonderful inhabitants
