Let's Talk!

+353 87 950 1285

The Commodification of Bumblebees

  1. Home
  3. The Commodification of Bumble Bees

Forget the elephant in the room. Let’s talk about the bumblebees in the box.
A quick article on the commodification of bumblebees to produce your food.
The numbers.
Why it’s bad for wild bees.
How they kill them when they’re no longer of use.

Spoiler alert:
Bumblebees are artificially produced to pollinate food crops.
This ‘industry’ is worth 100’s of millions of euros.
It’s poorly regulated.
They are traded across continents.
Bees escape into the wild.
Spread disease.
Breed with native bees.
They are suffocated when no longer of use.
The ‘mass production’ of bumblebee colonies for pollination services began in the 1980’s.
By 2004 over 1 million commercially produced bumblebee colonies were being produced annually. Latest figures we found put this at 2 million colonies being produced and traded across continents annually with over 30 commercial producers worldwide in 2016. This is an industry worth hundreds of millions of euros/dollars.

Horticultural growers buy boxes of bumblebees to pollinate both field and greenhouse crops of tomatoes, strawberries, apples, pears, raspberries, cherries, blueberries, cranberries, cucumbers and peppers to name but a few.
Bumblebees can be over twice as efficient as honeybees at pollinating strawberries so growers import commercial colonies of bumblebees into Ireland to do this.
However these supposed ‘healthy’ imports interact with native bees spreading new disease and parasites.

Commercial bumblebees ‘escape’ into the wild – how couldn’t they?
They compete with native bees for forage and they spread disease – the incidence of parasites among native wild bee populations increases proportionally with proximity to commercial colonies.

A 2013 study found that 77% of commercial bumblebee colonies tested from 3 producers carried at least 1 of 5 different microbial parasites 3 of which were infectious to bumble bees and 4 infectious to honey bees causing significant negative health issues.
Legislation on the so called health of commercial colonies imported does not cover screening for bumblebee specific parasites – only honey bee specific parasites.
These boxed colonies are supplied with artificial nectar and pollen supplies to supplement the bumblebee diet when and if required. This too has the potential to spread disease.

In Ireland these artificially produced bumblebees are imported from one of a number of producers based on mainland Europe but the bumblebees imported are not necessarily the same subspecies of bumblebee native to Ireland and certainly weren’t going back a decade or so.
They mate with native species possibly diluting the traits that these native species have developed to enable them to thrive in the local ecosystem.
And now the real kick in the crotch – Bumblebee colonies produced and traded for pollination services are ‘disposed of’ after 8 weeks.

THE INDUSTRY RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE:
Wait until evening until all of the female workers have returned from foraging to their ‘box’ home. FOOD TAKEN AWAY. Locked in the box. Box placed in a plastic bag sealed with duct tape.
BUMBLEBEES LEFT TO DIE SLOWLY. Maybe refrigerated,
maybe not. After 7 days dispose of the colony as with other ‘AGRICULTURAL WASTE’.

So colonies of bumblebees become agricultural waste.
This is the truth of how we treat these vital beautiful creatures.
Indeed academics/researchers also purchase these colonies for research purposes and the exact same treatment and outcomes occur.
0

Although it may appear that bumblebees have only two wings they actually have four!

ARE YOU OKAY WITH ALL OF THIS?

Does it sit right?
Isn’t it uncomfortable?
Is there nothing we won’t bastardise, commercialise and degrade?
We have brought bees and nature to the brink.
Natural systems we depend upon to exist.
Unnatural systems such as this compound the damage.
Here at World Bee Sanctuary we call this out loudly – why don’t others?
That is why you need us.
We don’t duck the hard stuff!

We’re saving endangered native wild bees.
We educate.
We advocate.
We take action.
We disrupt.

Want to help? Get in Touch

(+353) 87 950 1285

info@worldbeesanctuary.org

Quick Links

Contacts

info@worldbeesanctuary.org
World Bee Sanctuary, Coolafancy, Co. Wicklow, Y14 EA89, Ireland.

World Bee Sanctuary is an AI Free Zone

ALL images captured on and copyright World Bee Sanctuary except honey bee images.

Copyright © 2026 World Bee Sanctuary .All Rights Reserved. | WebSite Design by Heaventree