Honey bee decline in the 21st century: Drivers, consequences, and strategic interventions

AbstractApis mellifera (Honey bees) contribute to worldwide farming and biodiversity because of the importance of their pollination activity. But over the past few decades, there has been a frightening drop in the numbers of honey bees across continents, leading to a pressing issue of food safety, ecosystem health, as well as the economy of rural areas. The review summarizes the existing knowledge of the worldwide situation of the honey bee population, addressing regional dynamics and various causes and factors that influence their decline. Such factors are the use of neonicotinoids and other pesticides, pathogenic pressures caused by Varroa destructor mites and Nosema spp., nutritional stress caused by monocultures and habitat fragmentation, and the synergistic impacts of climate change and pollution. The environmental impacts of the losses are now being felt around the world, including pollination systems, the productivity of crops, and worldwide biodiversity. Reduced pollination services are economically dangerous to agricultural productivity and livelihoods, especially in pollinator-based farming systems. Various mitigation measures described by the paper include integrated pest and pollinator management (IPPM), breeding of disease-resistant varieties, restoration of habitats, and conservation through communities. The trend can only be reversed through policy interventions at the national and international levels, scientific innovation, as well as citizen science. This review highlights the necessity and great importance of interdisciplinary and collaborative research to protect the honey bee population and the sustainable functioning of the agroecosystem by illuminating the current research gaps and the directions that future research should take.