Safeguarding honey bees and their pollination services is of particular importance for California because they are key pollinators for a large number of crops with an estimated annual value of more than US$ 9 billion. Honeybees are of crucial importance for future food security and affordability, and generate income and job opportunities through honey production and rental income when hives are loaned for crop pollination. Within the last ten years, we have seen unprecedented losses among managed honey bee operations in California and around the world. Activities to address this ongoing pollinator crisis are being conducted through a network of collaborating UC campuses that study the causes of honeybee declines and use novel bee health management tools. This network consolidates these activities under a collaborative umbrella and uses state of the art honeybee research and extension capabilities to build an interdisciplinary California-wide research network. Together, we develop new and innovative tools to effectively combat declining honey bee health in close collaboration with local beekeepers and pollination dependent industries.
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