How Many Honeybees Are There in the World?
Honeybees are an essential part of our ecosystem, providing pollination services for many plants and crops. But just how many honeybees are there in the world? The answer is not as straightforward as you might think.
Estimating Global Honeybee Populations
The exact number of honeybees in the world is difficult to estimate because they live in colonies that can range from a few hundred to tens of thousands of individuals. Additionally, beekeepers often move their hives around to different locations, making it hard to track population numbers. Estimates suggest that there are between 50 million and 80 million managed honeybee colonies worldwide, with each colony containing anywhere from 10,000 to 60,000 bees.
In addition to managed colonies, there are also wild honeybee populations. These bees live in natural habitats such as forests and meadows and are not kept by beekeepers. It is estimated that there are between 5 million and 10 million wild honeybee colonies worldwide.
Overall, it is estimated that there are between 55 million and 90 million honeybee colonies in the world, with each colony containing anywhere from 10,000 to 60,000 individual bees. This means that the total number of honeybees in the world could be anywhere from 550 billion to 5.4 trillion!