Recent reports of alarming losses within the commercial honey bee industry have farmers concerned about the future. California’s almond industry alone requires 90% of commercially managed bees to pollinate its orchards. A nation-wide study conducted in January 2025 estimates the 12-month losses at well over 50% on average, with individual beekeepers in the 70-100% loss range*. This amounts to a combined financial loss of over $139M in a scenario that is eerily reminiscent of 2007-2008’s Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD), but with no modern cause in sight. With this in mind, we asked our Waterborne Scientists who specialize in pollinators about alternatives to honey bees and the steps farmers can take to protect their crops.

Fortunately, there is much hope for farmers beyond commercial honey bee populations. Mother Nature has provided an array of pollinator options, and our Scientists have developed agriculture-based programs that lean heavily on native pollinators. Farmers around the world are finding that native pollinator options are becoming increasingly useful as pests and diseases continue to impact honey bee populations. While location and the crops being grown will impact a pollinator’s suitability, we’ve described a few of the advantages to native pollinators below.

Orchard crop growers have long relied on commercial honey bees to pollinate their trees, however, they are not the only option available. Osmia lignaria, also known as the Blue Orchard Bee or Orchard Mason Bee, is a blue black beauty that’s native to North America and can already be found in orchards from California to Quebec to parts of the Southern States. Unlike honey bees, this highly efficient pollinator nests alone in small cavities or holes already found in nature. Farmers can coax them to orchards through strategically placed artificial nests made out of tubes, blocks, or hollow reeds. Blue Orchard Bees hibernate over winter and emerge when temperatures warm in the spring, ready to pollinate as flowers emerge. These native pollinators are useful for commercial pollination in North American orchards, especially for rosaceous plants like apples, cherries, and almonds.

In some cases, native pollinators are preferred over honey bees. For example, tomato plants require a particular type of pollination called "buzz pollination" where the pollinator shakes the anthers to get the pollen. Honey bees cannot do this. Native bumble bees, on the other hand, excel at buzz pollination and can boost tomato crops. Bumble bees are excellent pollinators that live in a social colony environment that could be housed above ground, in a tree, or in a hole.

In more tropical and subtropical ecosystems, stingless bee species have proven to be excellent pollinators that are more frequently managed as wild pollinators, but can also be managed in commercial colonies. In Australia, wild stingless bees (Tetragonula carbonaria) are as effective or better as managed honey bees at pollinating blueberry crops (Vaccinium spp.) and macadamia orchards. Stingless bees have been known to pollinate at least 1476 genera of plants. Conservationists are using stingless bees to not only offer farmers native pollinator options, but to but to rebuild portions of the Amazon lost to deforestation.

There are also a number of non-bee insect pollinators, including certain species of flies, beetles, butterflies, moths, ants, and more. Studies have shown that both hover flies and blowflies are the most important pollinators of the native non-bee pollinator population. Attracted to both nectar and pollen, which they digest for energy and sexual maturation, flies collect vast amounts of pollen and, due to their independent, hive-free lifestyles, roam larger geographic ranges than hive-bound bees. They can withstand a greater variance in temperature, including some extremes that would ground bees, breed faster, and can forage earlier and later in the day. Avocado farmers, for example, have found Chrysomya megacephala, or the Oriental Latrine Fly, outperforms honey bees by visiting more flowers and carrying more pollen within the same period of time, and adding flies to strawberry cages increased the yield by 70% and improved fruit size and quality. Many fly species offer the added bonus of predatory larvae that consume aphids, caterpillars, and other soft-bodied pests.

Some flies have proven to be effective pollinators of crops grown in enclosures like cages or glasshouse, and effectively promote cross-pollination for seeds or fruit. Whereas honey bees are ill-suited for greenhouses, flies are more than up to the task. A good example is the blow fly, Calliphora vomitoria, used for onions grown for seed. Attracted to the smell of rotting flesh, farmers in Australia believe so strongly that blowflies can increase their mango crop yields, that they'll place a barrel of roadkill or fish in the middle of their orchards as fly bait.

All of this doesn't even touch on the numerous other types of animals, like birds, bats, and small mammals, that can be important pollinators. Research shows that animals around the world are responsible for around 76% of crop plant pollination. Outside of insects, there are birds, bats, and even lizards that can play the role of pollinators in some systems. Bats, for example, pollinate 528 plant species worldwide, including popular agricultural crops. A study showed a 71% decline in fruit or seed production when bats were excluded from an area. Birds are known to pollinate 920 plant species. This shows how diverse pollinators can be.

Beyond the challenges associated with decreasing hive populations, there are a number of considerations to keep in mind when using managed bees. Trucking in exotic species and outside-sourced bees to non-native regions can cause havoc on the local ecosystem, particularly on the native bee communities. The use of outside-sourced bees requires research to help understand managed bee pollination and mitigate any impact on the surrounding environment. Along those same lines, scientists are cultivating controlled pollinator species from native populations, including hover and bot flies.

Attracting mostly native pollinators to crop fields and orchards is something that farmers can employ as part of their environmental program and can be a tremendous benefit when honey bee populations decline. Waterborne’s scientists will work with clients to develop native pollinator programs that can include the use of specialized nest structures, native vegetation and wildflowers, and proper grassland and water management. Some species may require additional attractants or setups, but once established, they are happy to get to work pollinating flowers on the crops and trees around them.

*Data pulled from a survey of commercial bee populations conducted January 1st - February 10th, 2025 between Project Apis, the American Beekeeping Federation, the American Honey Producers Association, apiculture extension programs, and beekeepers.