Honeybee colony health and the welfare of managed bee populations raises questions about insect welfare at colony scale. Understanding threats to bee health has implications for both welfare and food system security.
The welfare status of bees is scientifically uncertain but increasingly taken seriously. Research showing pessimistic cognitive biases in stressed bees, and complex communication through dance language, suggests some form of experience worth moral consideration. At colony scale, welfare concerns include: pesticide exposure impairing health and navigation, Varroa-driven immune suppression causing painful deaths, disruption of natural swarming and reproductive cycles in managed colonies, and the extreme demands of commercial migratory pollination on colony health. Supporting pesticide-free and sustainable beekeeping, protecting wild bee habitat, and reducing reliance on honeybee monoculture pollination are all welfare-relevant actions.