Honey bees are the most economically important pollinator insect globally, and commercial beekeeping raises significant welfare questions that receive little mainstream attention.
Honey bee welfare sits at a contested intersection of insect sentience science and agricultural practice. Commercial beekeeping involves wing-clipping queens, transport stress for entire colonies, selective breeding that prioritizes honey production over bee fitness, and treatment protocols for disease that involve lethal measures. The welfare case for bees is not as strong as for vertebrates but is stronger than for most other insects, based on behavioral and neurological evidence.