Honey Bees and Pollination

Up To 40% of America's Honey Bees Die Each Year.

In fact, the number of hives in the United States is now at its lowest point in the past 50 years. Critical wildlife habitat is disappearing, putting honey bees and other pollinators like monarch butterflies in serious decline – and putting our food supply at risk. The global economic cost of bee decline, including lower crop yields and increased production costs, has been estimated as high as $5.7 billion per year.

One Third of Our Food Supply Requires A Pollinator

One-third of our food supply – including most fruit and vegetable crops – requires the work of a pollinator to make it to our table. As much as 80% of flowering plants – 90 different crops – require pollination by honey bees and other insects. That means 1 in 3 bites of food depend on a pollinator.

And the economic impact reaches far beyond the table. In the United States, pollination by honey bees, native bees, and other insects produces $40 billion worth of products annually. Approximately $18 billion in American agriculture relies on pollinators.

In 2009 alone, honey bees directly supported $11.7 billion of crops in the U.S., and in Canada, the value of honey bee pollination for crop production is estimated at $1.3 to 1.7 billion annually.

Nowhere to Fly

Almost 24 million acres of grassland were converted into crop ground in the last decade, taking valuable habitat away from pollinators and other wildlife.

For example, Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) Lands once offered a safe haven to thousands of commercial bee hives, providing a buffer from the effects of intense agricultural practices. In 2007, CRP acres numbered 37 million; by 2014, only 24 million.

Hitting Honey Hard

US honey production is at the lowest in history – declining by 25%. Just 7 states account for 57% of the honey production in the U.S. — those states are all located within the region losing the most grassland acres.

Honey Bees Aren't the Only Ones Affected

Other wildlife including monarch butterflies, pheasant, geese, quail, deer and more benefit from critical pollinator habitat rebuilding.

Click Here to Access Resources and Learn More About Honey Bees

Watch to Learn More about
Honey Bees and Habitat:

Everyone Can Help

Donate: Every dollar raised means more pollinator habitat created.
Apply for a project: Applications are accepted year-round.
Help promote our efforts: Please like and follow the BBHF on Facebook and promote our efforts to your Facebook friends.
Become a corporate sponsor: With proven results, our NextGen Habitat Projects are making a difference for honey bees, monarch butterflies, and other native pollinators.

About Us

Seed A Legacy

Videos

Give the Gift of Habitat

Habitat Guide