Pollination by Bees

We often think of honey bees when we hear the word “pollinator.” That makes sense since there are at least 16,000 different species of bees in the world. The term for pollination by bees is “melittophily.”

About 10 years ago beekeepers experienced a major die-off of honey bees. Labeled Colony Collapse Disorder, there was major concern the agricultural products that rely on honey bees for pollination would be unable to produce sufficient fruit for communities to eat.

Since it was first discovered researchers and scientists have been working to identify the causes and develop treatments to not only stop further Colony Collapse, but also rebuild the honey bee populations lost.