Honeybee shortage threatens crop pollination

In more than half of European countries, there are not enough honeybees to pollinate crops, according to new research by the scientists at Plos One.

                                   

Scientists believe that a boom in biofuels has sparked a massive increase in the need for pollination.The shortage is particularly severe in the untied kingdom (UK) which has only a quarter of the honeybees required.Researchers believe that wild pollinators including bumblebees and hoverflies are making up the shortfall.


Little is known about the number of wild pollinating species as they are not being monitored in the UK. The researchers believe this reliance on them could be hampering yields and putting UK crops at risk.