Honey Bees in America: Past, Present, and Future

The Life and Times of the North American Honey Bee:

     In the United States alone, Honey Bees (Apis Mellifera) pollinate more than 90 crops, and their agricultural value as commercial pollinators has been estimated to be over $15 billion [1, 3]. There are two major categories of Honey Bee populations in the US, those in managed hives, which have become important resources for data collection about declining Honey Bee populations, and feral (or, wild) Honey Bee populations. Thought to have originated from Western Europe, the American Honey Bee has been present in the US since at least 1622 [3]. Honey Bees are important pollinators the world over, and without the service that they provide (fertilizing flowering plants by carrying pollen to them), numerous plant species, and the industries which depend upon these plants, would be far less likely to thrive.

     North American Honey Bee populations have been subject to great decline in recent years. The major problem facing these crucial creatures has been Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). There are many factors believed to contribute to CCD, some related to climate change and some not so much. Most prominent among these factors are increased use of particular pesticides, radiation from widespread use of cell phones and wireless electronics, new parasites and pathogens, and the shifting of the spring season earlier and earlier [1, 4]. Spring shifting may result in trophic mismatching between honeybees and their targets for pollination, changing "nectar flow" patterns, which will be discussed further in this blog, as well as producing untold species and agricultural effects. 

     Refer to Figure 1 below for a visual of this "honeycomb" of problems which Honey Bees are facing, as well as the numbers which point to their worrisome and rapid decline:

(Figure 1 explanation: Colony Collapse Disorder, Nectar Flow Patterns, and Phenological Changes (all underlined in red) are the key climate-related issues which affect Honey Bee populations. Population data for bar graph is from Source [1])

   As evidenced by the above figure, climate change is not by any means the biggest thing that Honey Bees have to worry about these days.  Still, it is undeniable that climate change has serious potential to affect Honey Bees (and other Bee species)  in numerous ways. 

Click through the tabs at the top of the page to explore this topic further! 
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• Some terms have been boldfaced to make finding their definitions easier for readers to whom these words are not familiar.
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Happy Reading! :) 
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