The Future of Pollination

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The Future of Pollination

In the pollination video on the previous page, Maryann mentioned that insect pollination is "elegant and efficient, assuming there are enough insects to do it." Therein lies the major concern of many fruit and vegetable farmers and other agricultural experts.

Honey bee populations have dropped significantly, over 25% since 1990, while food production has increased during that time.

This stretches the capacity of migratory beekeepers as they move fewer colonies all over the country in an effort to pollinate all the food crops that require insects to do the work of transferring pollen from one blossom to another.

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Flowering plants are an integral part of our planet's ecosystem.

If the honey bee population drops too low, it will likely jeopardize:

Human food supplies around the world

The wide variety of fruits and vegetables in the human diet

The earth's ecosystem

To capitalize on the niche left by declining honey bees, some farmers and entrepreneurs are trying to cultivate larger populations of other species of insect pollinators, like bumble bees and blue orchard bees. It is unclear whether these practices will prove to be sustainable.

Bees pollinate all kinds of flowering plants that are integral parts of the complex food web and ecosystem of our planet. Halting the decline of the honey bee population is a better approach than finding substitutes that can do their jobs.

Furthermore, honey bee health has impacts beyond agriculture since bees pollinate all kinds of flowering plants that are integral parts of the complex food web and ecosystem of our planet. Halting the decline of the honey bee population is a better approach than finding substitutes that can do their jobs.

This may require changes in human behavior and honey bee management practices. Scientists continue to study and explore the life and world of the honey bee in an effort to bring helpful new (or old) ideas to light.