Shortages of bees in the US have increased the cost to farmers of renting them for pollination services by up to 20%.

Some commercial beekeepers alternate between pollination service and honey production but usually cannot do both at the same time.

He has expanded his Connecticut business, though, to meet the demand for more bees and pollination services.

Irrespective of its causes, however, this drop comes at a critical time, with demand for pollination services rocketing upward.

Many species are nectar robbers, performing no pollination services to a plant while still consuming nectar.

Beekeepers provide pollination services to horticulturalists, which generates more income than the products of bee culture.

Some beekeepers provide a pollination service to other farmers.

However, intensified agricultural practices can quickly erode pollination services through the loss of species and those remaining are unable to compensate for the difference.

The value of these pollination services is commonly measured in the billions of dollars.

Here the externality was a benefit, not a cost: bee-keepers provide pollination services for local growers of flowers and fruit.