Study Links Wild Pollinator Numbers and Farm Productivity

A study by a University of British Columbia researcher, published in Environmental Research Letters, sheds light on the link between diminishing numbers of wild pollinators and reduced farm productivity. Matthew Mitchell and his colleagues are deeply concerned about declining populations of wild bees—mason bees, carpenter bees, sweat bees and bumble bees—and other wild pollinators like moths, wasps, beetles, and flies. The Canadian study showed that targeted increases in wild pollinator habitat in Canada could help provide additional nutrition for an equivalent of 30 million people annually and increase farmer income by up to $3 billion every year.
Related ATTRA publication: Alternative Pollinators: Native Bees