Honey Bee Colony Welfare | Animal Welfare Hub

Managed honey bee colonies face significant welfare challenges from Varroa mites, pesticides, habitat loss, and intensive management practices.

Key Facts

Varroa mites have become the dominant health threat to managed honey bee colonies globally
Colony losses in the US exceed 40% annually
Neonicotinoid pesticides impair bee navigation, memory, and reproduction
Commercial pollination services move millions of colonies across the US annually

Welfare Considerations

Managed honey bee colonies under intensive management for pollination services face cumulative stressors from disease, pesticide exposure, transport stress, and nutritional deficiency when working monoculture crops lacking diverse forage. Whether individual bees have welfare in a morally significant sense is scientifically debated, but colony-level health clearly affects millions of individual insects. Supporting diverse forage and reduced pesticide exposure improves colony health.

What You Can Do

Plant diverse flowering plants to provide year-round forage for managed and wild bees
Reduce pesticide use including neonicotinoids in your garden and on your land
Support organic and reduced-pesticide farming practices
Choose local honey from beekeepers who practice minimal intervention beekeeping