News Life

Wild bees add about $1.5 billion to yields for just six U.S. crops

Threats to native pollinators could shrink profits even at farms stocking honeybees

bumblebee

Wild pollinators like this bumblebee visiting blueberry flowers turn out to boost yields even on some standard commercial farms that deploy honeybee hives for pollination.

© Faye Benjamin

By Susan Milius

U.S. cherries, watermelons and some other summertime favorites may depend on wild bees more than previously thought.

Many farms in the United States use managed honeybees to pollinate crops and increase yields, sometimes trucking beehives from farm to farm.