How could a major loss of bees affect food webs and ecosystems?

A major loss of bees, such as that caused by colony collapse disorder, would trigger significant, rippling effects throughout global ecosystems and food webs.1

Because bees are the world's most important insect pollinators, their decline would lead to:

• Loss of Plant Biodiversity: Many flowering plants rely exclusively or primarily on bees for pollination. Without them, these plants would experience reduced reproductive success or extinction, altering the composition of their habitats.12
• Disruption of Food Webs: Plants pollinated by bees provide essential food and shelter for various wildlife. A decline in these plants, combined with the loss of bees as a direct food source for other organisms (such as bee-eater birds), would negatively impact species that rely on them for survival.12
• Agricultural Impact: While staple cereal grains are wind-pollinated, the production of many fruits and vegetables would become significantly more expensive and less available, potentially impacting human nutrition.12

Protecting these pollinators is an ethical imperative to maintain the biodiversity and stability of the natural world.2