Does Collapse of Honey Bees Mean Future Food Shortages?

National Academy of Sciences Concerned
About General Decline of North American Pollinators

This is the most dramatic losses that I’ve seen in my career. I think I’ve heard 80% or higher losses (of honey bees in at least 24 states). I think they lost 400,000 colonies in Poland and 600,000 in Spain. In Florida, we have some 280,000 registered colonies and we’re expecting losses in the 35% to 45% range.

What insects can you think of that man has a relationship with? There aren’t too many and honey bees have had a relationship with man for thousands of years and it has been beneficial to both species. Now, that is highly in jeopardy.”

Beyond the honey bees, Something is killing all the pollinators. Pollinators include honey bees, bumble bees, hornets, wasps, butterflies, hummingbirds and even bats. Something is happening in the environment that is causing all of those different species to decline – and currently the most dramatic event is the massive disappearance of honey bees.