BEE HEALTH

Bees Deserve the Buzz

Everyone knows honey bees make honey, but their contributions hardly end there - one-third of the U.S. diet is derived from insect-pollinated plants and honey bees are responsible for an impressive 80 percent of that process. Bees are critical to the health of our planet and food chain, so beekeepers are careful to apply best practices that support bee health.

Don't Worry, Honey

Supporting bee health means supporting bees. Eating honey is not harmful to bees because producers promote best practices that support bee nutrition, well-maintained apiaries, and the appropriate application of pest control. Modern beekeepers also pay special attention to clean forage and hive placement.

Pollinator Problems

The not-so-sweet news, beekeepers are experiencing higher than average losses. This bee health decline has been linked to a variety of factors: pesticides, pests and diseases, and forage and nutrition. This, and the next, generation of beekeepers are key to mending this sticky situation.

We Stick to Our Commitments

We commit to working together as an industry to protect honey bee production and health, as well as raise consumer awareness about the link between healthy bees and the honey we love.

The National Honey Board is proud to allocate 5% of our anticipated revenue each year to fund critical honey bee health research projects. In 2017, we partnered with Project Apis m. to set a goal of investing $10 million together by 2020 to support research on issues like Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) and external factors affecting honey bees. READ MORE

Caribbean Bee Rescue Campaign: Following the colony losses in the Caribbean resulting from Hurricanes Maria and Irma in 2017, the Pollinator Partnership and its 17 partner organizations, including the National Honey Board, have set a goal to raise $50,000 to save some of the planet's most important pollinators. READ MORE

NHB supports the work of leading scientists in the field, with a focus on promoting honey bee health and preventing disease

NHB partners with industry research organizations to better understand the issues related to honey bee health and explore solutions to share with industry leaders.

NHB helps fund the planting of high-quality landscaping and foraging areas where honey bees are in need of food.