Wild Pollinators Declining, Study Finds Honeybees Half As Effective As Wild Bees

The honeybee farms are experiencing a difficult season in a battle between managed bees and wild bees.

According to an international study, published in the recent issue of Science, conclude managed honeybees are not successful at pollinating crops as wild insects, namely wild bees.

The conclusion comes after 600 fields across 20 countries were examined, and data noting the loss of wild insect affecting crop harvests.

University of Calgary's Department of Biological Sciences' Dr. Lawrence Harder was among the 50 scientists who participated in the research. The team analyzed crop systems from fruits, coffee, nuts, and seeds to figure out the consequences of the wild insects polluting crops.

"Our study demonstrates that production of many fruit and seed crops that make diets interesting, such as tomatoes, coffee and watermelon, is limited because their flowers are not adequately pollinated," said Dr. Harder. "We also show that adding more honey bees often does not fix this problem, but that increased service by wild insects would help."

The findings also saw will insects, or wild pollinators, were twice as effective compared to the managed honeybees.

"It was astonishing; the result was so consistent and clear," said Lucas Garibaldi, at the National University in Río Negro, Argentina. "We know wild insects are declining so we need to start focusing on them. Without such changes, the ongoing loss is destined to compromise agricultural yields worldwide."

The study's findings suggest for a new integrated management practice for both honeybees and wild insects. The new management practice could result in long-term agricultural production. Starts in the new management practice include conservation and restoration of natural or semi-natural crop areas.

To show the importance of bees, California's almond industry spends $239 billion a year to rent more than a million bee hives. According to the Los Angeles Times, "To get that many pollinators, growers have been renting honeybees - an increasingly expensive practice as colony collapse disorder wipes out bees by the millions, for reasons that remain poorly understood."