Excerpt: “The economic value of insect pollinators is much higher than previously thought, according to researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State University. The team also found that areas that are economically most reliant on insect pollinators are the same areas where pollinator habitat and forage quality are poor. … But some of those busy bees are headed for crisis. One-third of managed honeybee colonies die each winter in the U.S., and populations of many wild pollinator species are showing declines as well. Using publicly available price and production data and existing pollination field studies, the team determined the economic dependence of U.S. crops on insect pollination services at the county level; the researchers also determined areas where the habitat for wild pollinators has been reduced. One key finding is that the economic value of insect pollination totaled $34 billion in 2012.”
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