The Economic Value of Bees in the UK By webmaster Published: Friday 17th February, 2006 PrintEmail
In the UK, as elsewhere in Europe, bees are valued not only for the honey and wax that they produce, but also for the pollination service that they provide to the majority of our crops and wild flowers. However, no estimate of their value in economic terms has been made in recent years. At least 39 crops grown for their fruit or seed are insect pollinated, and a further 32 need insects for propagative seed production. Honey bees and bumble bees generally outnumber all other pollinators of these crops although the relative proportions of each vary with crop its location, season, time of day and pollination management practice.