Honeybees are very important to agriculture. They produce honey and they pollinate many plants, making seed and fruit development possible. In recent years, severe weather and attacks by newly introduced insects have seriously affected both wild and domestic honeybee populations.
Two species of mites entered North America around 1980. These mites weaken and kill honeybees by consuming their bodily fluids, blocking their respiratory passages, and spreading germs. European and South American honeybees developed an immunity to the effects of these mites. However, North American honeybees did not develop this immunity. By 1995, infestation with mites reached epidemic levels. In addition, the harsh winter of 1995 to 1996 killed honeybee colonies in many states.
Scientists have observed a significant decline in both wild and domestic honeybee populations. This loss affects beekeepers and farmers. Fifteen percent of all agricultural crops require bee pollination. Farmers have had to look for other species to pollinate their crops.
Honeybees are not the only pollinators that have decreased in numbers. Many other insect and vertebrate pollinators throughout the world have been killed by the overuse of pesticides and habitat destruction. Many wild plants, including a number of endangered species, depend entirely on one animal species for pollination. The solutions to this “pollination crisis” are complex. It is clear that efforts to save threatened pollinators cannot be separate from efforts to preserve threatened plants and habitats.