Crop pollination is a vital ecosystem service and essential for maintaining agricultural and horticultural productivity. Insects help pollinate 84% of crop species in Europe, including most fruits, many vegetable and some biofuel crops. This service is worth at least £430 million each year in the UK. This pollination service is provided by wild pollinators such as bumblebees, solitary bees, hoverflies and butterflies and managed bee species including the honey bee. Current evidence, however, shows that many wild and managed pollinators are in widespread decline and this could have serious implications for the productivity of insect pollinated crops and food security in the UK. Find out more here
