Recent research shows that increasing shortages in honeybees threaten pollination of crops in Europe. Although according to a study covering 41 European countries the overall number of honeybee stocks has increased by 7 per cent between 2005 and 2010 (to an estimated 13.4 million colonies with 7 billion honeybees), 15 countries have also experienced declines ranging from 4 per cent in Slovenia to 47 per cent in Switzerland. At the same time have changes in agricultural practices led to considerable changes in the need for pollination. Increases in pollinated crop areas are contributed to the growth of areas for producing biofuel crops (oilseed rape, sunflower and soybean), as have the use of pesticides led to a decline in the number of bees.
This map series demonstrates the links between supply density of honeybees and the number of colonies required to provide pollination services to pollinate crop areas. It can be seen that the supply of honeybees relative to the national demand varies considerably between European countries. Of all countries included in the survey, the United Kingdom’s shortage in honeybees is only surpassed by Moldova, making the need for habitat protection a critical task not only for changes in environmental but also in agricultural policies.
A modified version of this map was published in the January 2019 edition of Geographical Magazine. The content on this page has been created by Benjamin Hennig. Please contact me for further details on the terms of use.