The global challenge of improving bee protection and health

Abstract

Agriculture is heavily reliant on insects for food production. In fact, at least a third of all crops rely on pollination (Klein et al., 2007). Paradoxically, as agriculture becomes more intensive and the need for pollinators increases, modern agricultural practices also reduce bee populations through application of pesticides and intensive land use (Klein et al., 2007; Aizen and Harder, 2009; Gallai et al., 2009). This increased demand and concurrent declining bee health have led to a ‘pollination crisis’ (Holden, 2006; Goulson et al., 2015). Bee diseases and pests have become a major limiting factor in the effort to provide the large numbers ofstrong honey bee colonies that are now required, greatly increasing costs for beekeepers and hive rental fees for farmers (Genersch, 2010; Traynor et al., 2020). Besides honey bees, there are over 20,000 other bee species (Engel et al., 2020). The non- Apis bees are often wonderfully diverse in form and function, worthy of conservation and preservation in their own right. For example, the re-discovery of Wallace’s Giant Bee, Megachile pluto, or the Dodo of the bee world, provides new challenges for conservation (Vereecken, 2018). The contribution of many non-Apis bees to pollination is substantial, though often much less appreciated. Additionally, the interaction of other bee species and honey bees can have synergistic benefits for pollination services, resulting in higher fruit-set and productivity (Brittain et al., 2013). In this article we briefly review the major stressors and health issues for bees. Improving the protection and health of honey bees, and the many thousands of other bee species, is a major global challenge and is the goal for this journal section. Major