Honeybee

Image © Claire Carvell, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

The UK government has announced that it will provide up to €12m worth of funds for a series of projects that hope to discover why there has been a sharp decline in honeybees and other pollinating insects over recent years.

The projects, which will explore the causes and consequences of threats to insect pollinators, will be carried out under the auspices of the UK-government funded Insect Pollinators Initiative.

In a statement, the country’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), which is backing the initiative, said the projects were aiming to ensure that the pollination of agricultural and horticultural crops was protected and biodiversity in natural ecosystems was maintained.

The projects will look at different aspects of the decline of insect pollinators. Some will focus on specific species and diseases; others will look more broadly at factors affecting the health and survival of some or all pollinating insects.

But the BBSRC said it was “clear” that there was “no one factor causing the problem”.

“The causes of pollinator declines are likely to be complex and involve interactions between pollinators, the environment and the pests and diseases that affect these insects,” the organisation said.

Insects pollinate around a third of the agricultural crops grown globally and the group estimates that total loss of insect pollinators could cost up to €527m per year in the UK – about 13 per cent of the UK’s income from farming.

“Because of the vital role pollinating insects play it is absolutely crucial that we generate knowledge that can be applied to strategies aimed at reversing the decline,” the BBSRC added.