The Collapse Of The Honeybee Industry Could Cost Hundreds Of Billions Of Dollars

Honeybees don't just produce honey: The hard-working insect is also fundamental to the world's food supply.

One-third of the food we eat depends on insect pollination, mostly by honeybees that are raised and managed by beekeepers.

The value of insect pollinators on world agricultural production, which accounts for their role in producing better quality and quantity of harvests, was estimated at $208 billion in 2005.

That figure does not even include the retail value of what honeybees pollinate — everything from apples and cherries to broccoli and pumpkins — or the honey that bees produce. In the United Kingdom alone, where honeybees contribute an added crop value of about $413 million, the estimated retail value is north of $1 billion.