They’re the bedrock of food security.
Alexandra-Maria Klein 18, Department of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacherstr; Virginie Boreux Felix Fornoff, Department of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacherstr; Anne-Christine Mupepele, Department of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacherstr; Gesine Pufal, Department of Nature Conservation and Landscape Ecology, University of Freiburg, Tennenbacherstr, April 2018, "Relevance of wild and managed bees for human well-being," Current Opinion in Insect Science, Vol. 26, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2214574517300822, kav
Globally, it is estimated that 87.5 % of angiosperms are pollinated by animals 79 [17]. Crops mainly belong to angiosperms and bees visit more than 90% of 80 the globally most important crop types [2,3]. The majority of these crops are 81 not only visited by bees but their pollination and hence their production 82 depends on them [2]. An estimated 5-8% of global crop production, 83 corresponding to 153 billion EUR annually, will be lost in a world without 84 pollinators [18,19]. This number does not consider the contribution of bees to 85 crop seed production or to the production of major forage crops like alfalfa, 86 clover and soybean for dairy and meat production, which is an urgent 87 research task of future investigation. 88
The loss of bee pollinators will likely change cropping patterns toward non89 pollinator dependent crop types with consequences for the producer and 90 consumer welfare [20]. The value of bees for wild plant pollination is likely to 91 exceed crop pollination but is much harder to predict [4]. 92
Besides the direct economic impact of pollinators on crop production, the loss 93 of pollinators will also lead to deficiencies in essential vitamins and minerals 94 for humans, because pollinator-dependent crop types are the main plant 95 source for essential vitamins such as vitamin C or carotenoids [21,22]. A 96 reduction in the production of pollinator-dependent crop types and 97 concurrently in vitamins from plant resources will be especially pronounced in 98 developing countries [22,23]. Additionally, bee pollination can change the 99 nutritional composition of fruits and seeds, which could also be altered 100 through a loss of bees [24,25]. 1