Every time I interact with my beehives and see the tremendous number of bees that belong solely to my colony, I always find myself contemplating how many bees exist in the world. I’ve always assumed that this number must be significant, since the amount of bees in one hive is typically rather large. Of course I had to find an answer! In this post, I will share what I have learned when trying to find out how many bees are left in the world.
Exactly how many bees are left in the world?
It is extremely difficult to conclude exactly how many bees are left in the world because, just like any wildlife species, that number is constantly fluctuating. That being said, taking into account information from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, recent estimates suggest that there are at least two trillion bees in the world which are being taken care of by beekeepers.
It is worthy to note that this number of two trillion only takes into account the beehives that have been reported to the United Nations, which is almost certainly not all that exist. The number is almost definitely greater, as a result of the fact that only the reported beehives are included in this figure.
Therefore, while this number might be not entirely accurate, it is the best estimate there is and speaks to how vastly significant bees are in the world’s large ecosystem.
How many bees are in an individual colony? What about an individual hive?
Before attempting to deduct how many bees exist in the entire world, it is helpful to first attempt to comprehend how many bees belong to just one hive, and furthermore, just one individual beekeeper’s colony.
There are generally around 20,000 – 60,000 bees in one hive, though that number can vary significantly depending on several variables, including how large the hive is. Therefore, it is impossible to deduct how many bees exist in a hive or colony at one time, simply due to the fact that there are just so many variables and every bee organization has a different estimate for how many bees can exist in a hive and a colony. However, this base number gives insight into how many bees even one individual beekeeper can own if the said beekeeper is efficient and dedicated to their job. The number, to put it simply, is significant.
Where are the most beehives located geographically?
According to information provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the top three countries between 2007 and 2017 which had the most beehives are India, mainland China and Turkey. The United States is also towards the top of the list, as well as Argentina and Spain.
One of the most interesting things about beekeeping is the fact that it can be done nearly anywhere on Earth. The range of countries that have the most beehives in the world really serve as a testament to this. Beekeeping is a vital part of life in China, as in the States.
So, are the number of bees really decreasing?
To put it simply, no. The number of bees that are in the world is not steadily decreasing as the media may sometimes lead us to believe. The truth is that the number of bees is rather consistent (even though the number of bees to exist in the world at any given time is constantly fluctuating). What has been increasing significantly, however, is the demand for crop pollination, a job in which bees are primarily responsible for completing.
In fact, there has been a rather sizeable increase in the bee population. According to journalist Katherine Harmon, there has been nearly a 50% increase in the number of domesticated bees within the last five decades. This information, presented by scientists Marcelo A. Aizen and Lawrence D. Harder, was published in 2009 and clearly suggests that the bee population is indeed safe.
With that being said, there has been an extremely significant increase in crop pollination. An estimate reveals an increase of more than 300%. Compare this to a 45% increase in the bee population and it is evident that it is not in fact the number of bees that is causing a dilemma, but rather the fact that the demand for bees to pollinate crops has increased so much. The real issue is that this increased number of bees cannot maintain keeping up with the sheer number of crops that require pollination.
Why do an increased number of crops require pollination?
As the world population continues to increase exponentially, there are more and more people and mouths that need to be fed. There is an increasingly large number of crops that need to be pollinated, since there is an increased amount of food that needs to be produced to sustain the number of people who eat it.
As a result, the number of bees needs to increase at the same rate as the crop pollination, since this gap in these numbers is causing an “issue.” No, bees are not decreasing in population. What is happening is that crop pollination and it’s necessity is increasing, and these bees simply cannot keep up to the demand.
What are some potential threats to the number of bees left in the world?
While there are still a significant number of bees left in the world, there are several threats to this species of insect that every beekeeper should be aware of. Some of these are simply unpreventable; however, having awareness about them is essential. It can be beneficial to keep these potential threats at the back of your mind as a beekeeper.
The most significant potential threats to bees are as follows:
- The usage of pesticides
- Natural predators
- Habitat losses
- Diseases
- Internal issues within the hive, for example Colony Collapse Disorder
The first potential threat is the usage of pesticides, an increasingly important threat to pay attention to. This is because the utilization of pesticides is becoming more and more commonplace as farmers try to protect their crops from undesirable pests. The usage of these chemicals qualifies as a significant threat because many of these chemicals, though they are not constantly being sprayed, stay in the air for a lengthy amount of time. The bees often come into contact with flora that the pesticides reach, therefore transferring the chemical to the bees.
Pesticides are harmful for obvious reasons. Originally designed to keep harmful insects away from destroying crops, pesticides are becoming a prevalent issue for farmers, particularly as their impact on the safety of the food that they are often utilized in the creation of has come into question in recent years.
The use of pesticides isn’t just an issue for farmers, however; beekeepers, especially those who reside in a rural area with a lot of commercial farming, should pay special attention to help ensure that their bees do not come into contact with more pesticides than they must.
The second potential threat to the bee population are natural predators. Everyone knows bears love honey as much (if not more) as humans do! It is important to remember – especially if you live in a wooded area or if there is a lot of wildlife in the surrounding areas – take precautions when dealing with your bees. It is not entirely unheard of for natural predators such as bears to come around and potentially harm a colony.
One way to avoid having this issue is to try to put the hives on a stand to make them higher and more inaccessible for larger animals to reach. This would combat having unwanted visitors getting into the colony and causing issues. However, these natural predators are part of the ecosystem and can only be prevented to a certain degree. There are not typically many long-term issues with natural predators. If you find your hive or colony constantly under attack from bears or other animals, it may be a good idea to move it if possible.
The third potential threat to bees is habitat loss. Since you are keeping “domesticated bees,” they do not have to worry about the loss of their own habitat. With that said, bees cannot do their job without having flora to pollinate!
Habitat loss for flora can be an extremely large issue for bees as their primary source of pollen may get destroyed when construction and building occurs. How significant of an issue this is for your bees varies greatly depending on where your colony is based. For beekeepers living in a rural area, this may not be a threat at all. For others who live in more suburban areas (where urbanization is possible) habitat loss for flora that the bees rely on may be more of an issue.
The fourth potential threat is varroa mites. Since bees are animals, there is always the potential that there will be a parasite that sweeps the population and will pose a significant threat to many bees. When this happens, your colony may be at risk. However, there are ways to get rid of varroa mites. Read more about natural ways to do that in my article here – How to Get Rid Of Varroa Mites Naturally?
Finally, the last potential threat is an internal issue with the hive, such as Colony Collapse Disorder. Colony Collapse Disorder, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), refers to “the phenomenon that occurs when the majority of worker bees in a colony disappear and leave behind a queen, plenty of food and a few nurse bees to care for the remaining immature bees and the queen.”
While this seems frightening, the EPA reports that this has become less of an issue in recent years than was previously expected. “Once thought to pose a major long-term threat to bees, reported cases of CCD have declined substantially over the last five years,” the EPA said. The environmental agency went on to add that, “the number of hives that do not survive over the winter months – the overall indicator for bee health – has maintained an average of about 28.7 percent since 2006-2007 but dropped to 23.1 percent for the 2014-2015 winter.
While winter losses remain somewhat high, the number of those losses attributed to CCD has dropped from roughly 60 percent of total hives lost in 2008 to 31.1 percent in 2013; in initial reports for 2014-2015 losses, CCD is not mentioned.”
Although there are many bees left, they still need your care!
While it is often believed that the number of bees left in the world is dwindling, this is not necessarily the case. Though there are several threats a bee colony may encounter, the population as a whole is still large. But we do need to put in some effort to maintain it. It doesn’t matter if you keep bees or not, you can still help them out by not using pesticides and by having a bee friendly garden.
If you have any questions regarding number of bees left or want to discuss anything related to beekeeping, do reach out!
Keep buzzing!