Monday, May 20^th is World Bee Day.  Designated by the United Nations in 2017, World Bee Day recognizes the urgent need to protect bees and other pollinators in support of innovative, coordinated, and environmentally sound sustainable development. Bees and other pollinators provide key services in sustainable agriculture systems that support human livelihoods, nutrition, and food security.  However, they are under threat from a range of factors including human activities such as land use changes, intensive agriculture and pesticide use, pollution, diseases, and climate change. Raising awareness is fundamental to facilitating actionable steps to protect bees and other pollinators in service of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, and particularly Zero Hunger (Goal 2), Responsible Consumption and Production (Goal 12), and Life on Land (Goal 15).

Why May 20^th? May 20^th marks the birthday of Anton Janša, a pioneer of modern beekeeping techniques in 18^th century Slovenia. Janša innovated alterations in the size and shape of hives to more easily stack and move; he also highlighted the role and importance of drones, bee’s hard work ethic, and the ease of caring for the creatures.

Why Bees? Nearly 90% of the world’s wild flowering plant species depend at least partially on animal pollination; the same is true of 75% of food crops and 35% of agricultural land. There is concern that monoculture production and improper use of pesticides can reduce pollinator’s access to food and nesting sites, expose them to harmful chemicals, and weaken their immune systems. It is estimated that nearly 35% of invertebrate pollinators, including bees, face extinction on a global level.

Evidence-based agricultural conservation practices have been highlighted as key methods of protecting bees and other pollinators, helping support a sustainable agricultural system that provides for secure and resilient human food and nutrition needs. In particular, pollinators are key for the production of crops including fruits, nuts, and many vegetable crops.

Protecting Bees The International Pollinator Initiative and the Food and Agriculture Organization prioritize the conservation and sustainable use of pollinators, particularly through monitoring pollinator decline, increasing research on taxonomic information, assessing the economic value and impact of pollinators, and protecting pollinator diversity. Agriculturally, careful use of pesticides, diversification of crops, and inclusion of pollinator habitat around farmland are a few of the ways to support pollinator health. Government decision-makers can contribute through strengthening of local community participation in pollinator conservation, enforcing strategic measures including monetary incentives, and increasing collaboration between national and international organizations including academic and research networks. You can also support pollinators through raising awareness—your own and other’s—and by sharing relevant information within your communities and networks.

In support of these goal, we have collected a series of articles published in Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems addressing the health and sustainability of bees and other pollinators in agri-food systems.

Cambridge University Press recognizes the importance of this day and is participating in raising awareness by providing free access to six articles in its journal Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems. These papers, selected by Editor-in-Chief Katherine Dentzman, showcase the authors’ research on agricultural stakeholders’ perceptions of pollinators, ways to support pollinator habitat provisioning, and the agronomic benefits of bee pollination systems. Several papers focus on a growing interest in the potential of wild bees to diversify pollination approaches and provide agronomic services. Bencharki et al. (2022) found that including marketable habitat enhancement plants, such as spices and oil seeds, in field borders led to higher diversity of wild bees including spill-over pollination in commodity crop fields in Morocco. In an urban context, Egerer (2022) discovered that community gardens in urban Berlin, Germany attracted wild bee species never before documented in the region. Giovanetti & Bortolotti (2023) observe growing public concern over wild bee health in Italy, tracing the rise in public interest and its impact on EU reforms, policy measures, and programs to enhance wild bee health. In Canada, Nalepa et al. (2020) surveyed apple growers on their awareness and perceptions of wild bees; they found that high awareness and perception of benefits strengthened intentions to adopt pollinator-supporting practices, but that overall Canadian apple growers had low awareness of the characteristics and potential of wild bees, and also did not know where to go to learn more. These articles point to the increasing potential of wild bees for pollination, as well as the need for public awareness, information support, and public policy measures. The remaining two featured papers concentrate on the potential of bumble bees for targeted pollination. Normandeau Bonneau et al. (2020) found that using bumble bees for pollination under pest exclusion netting in Quebec, Canada apple production produced similar quality fruit compared to conventional honey bee and wild bee pollination. Meanwhile Amon et al. (2023) surveyed cranberry growers in the US and Canada and discovered that while growers were interested in the potential of using bumble bees, they sometimes had inaccurate information; there was a need for greater availability of trusted information sources such as university specialists, crop consultants, and beekeepers. Awareness of the threats to bees, their potential benefits, and appropriate strategies for protecting bees were major themes of these articles, with consistent calls for more accurate and effective information sharing—we hope that this special collection in honor of World Bee Day contributes to these goals.

View the full collection of articles here: World Bee Day

Featured Papers:

Amon, N.D., Quezada, M., Labarre, D., & Guédot, C. 2023. Pollination practices and grower perceptions of managed bumble bees (Bumbus spp.) as pollinators of cranberry in Quebec and Wisconsin. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 38 (e43): 1-11.

Bencharki, Y., Christmann, S., Lhomme, P., Ihsane, O., Sentil, A., El Abdouni, I., Hamroud, L., Rasmont, P., & Michez, D. 2022. ‘Farming with alternative pollinators’ approach supports diverse and abundant pollinator community in melon fields and in a semi-arid landscape. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 38 (e6): 1-12.

Egerer, M. 2022. Bee discovery suggests the importance of urban gardens in a changing world. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 37(5): 371-374.

Giovanetti, M., & Bortolotti, L. 2023. Pollinators and policy: The intersecting path of various actors across an evolving CAP. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 38 (e27): 1-7.

Nalepa, R.A., Epstein, G., Pittman, J., & Colla, S.R. 2020. Perceptions of wild bees and farm characteristics associated with the uptake of pollinator-supported land management practices among Canadian apple growers. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 36 (4): 334-343.

Normandeau Bonneau, M., Samson-Robert, O., Fournier, V., Chouinard, G. 2020. Commercial bumble bee (Bombis impatiens) hives under exclusion netting systems for apple pollination in orchards. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 36(3): 234-244.