July 12, 2025, 11:11 am | Read time: 7 minutes
Bumblebees are considered tireless pollinators in tomato cultivation–but behind the scenes, a darker picture emerges: mass breeding, the use of medication, and painful killing are reportedly common practices.
Bumblebees play a key role as pollinators in vegetable cultivation. Tomato growers, in particular, benefit from their unique buzz pollination. This method ensures high yields and better quality fruit. However, bumblebees pay a high price for tomato cultivation. Bred by the millions, they face death by burning or freezing after their work is done. They cannot be released into the wild as they are considered a threat to native insects. PETBOOK investigated how traders and vegetable producers handle these accusations. The bumblebee business is tightly organized and lucrative. Yet, those involved respond cautiously to inquiries.
Follow myHOMEBOOK on WhatsApp now
Overview
- Only Bumblebees Are Suitable as Pollinators for Greenhouse Tomatoes
- Environmental Groups Criticize Mass Breeding of Bumblebees for Tomato Pollination
- Bumblebees Are Responsible for Most of the World’s Tomato Pollination
- Bred Bumblebees Pose a Threat to Native Insects
- Buff-tailed Bumblebee Threatens Native Bumblebee Species in Chile
- Parasite Infestation Widespread in Commercial Bumblebee Breeding
- Use of Antibiotics Similar to Factory Farming
- Bumblebee Colony Traders Remain Silent
- Killing After the Work Is Done?
- Release Out of Pity in the United Kingdom
- Secrecy in Bumblebee Breeding
- Conclusion
Only Bumblebees Are Suitable as Pollinators for Greenhouse Tomatoes
Flowering and crop plants need to be pollinated. Tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes, in particular, require pollinators. In the wild, wind, birds, and bees take on this role. However, in greenhouses, free-living insects have difficulty reaching the plants. Tomatoes are often grown in protected environments, which prevents them from coming into contact with bees or bumblebees.
In the late 1980s, growers had to painstakingly shake their plants by hand to ensure pollination. In commercial cultivation, however, hand-shaking the plants is too time-consuming and expensive. As a result, more and more growers are using specially bred bumblebee colonies.
Environmental Groups Criticize Mass Breeding of Bumblebees for Tomato Pollination
Bumblebees can vibrate, allowing them to extract deeply embedded pollen, making them particularly attractive to commercial agriculture. They have been selectively bred for this purpose since the 1980s.
Bumblebees are a type of wild bee. In Germany, there are several species of bumblebees, including the dark buff-tailed bumblebee, which is particularly frequently bred. The colonies live for one season; in the fall, workers, drones, and old queens die. In the spring, the young queen forms a new colony. A bumblebee visits about 3,000 flowers per animal per season. They are usually out earlier than honeybees and fly even at low temperatures. Through selective breeding, bumblebees are optimized for peak performance. They no longer have much in common with their wild relatives, says bumblebee expert Harry Abraham in an interview with PETBOOK.
A bumblebee colony consists of about 500 animals. Depending on the need, several boxes with bumblebee colonies are used. Forty bumblebees can pollinate about 1,000 square meters of tomato plants for eight to 12 weeks. The advantage: fewer chemical agents against pests and plant diseases. Despite these benefits, environmental groups and experts criticize the mass breeding of bumblebees. They point out poor conditions, preventive medication, and dangers to the native insect world. Additionally, bumblebees that are no longer needed are simply killed.
Bumblebees Are Responsible for Most of the World’s Tomato Pollination
A Dutch bumblebee breeder advertises particularly long-lived and large colonies. Its “pollination potential” is up to 30 percent higher than that of other suppliers. Around 30 companies worldwide are engaged in bumblebee breeding, with Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain leading in Europe. The business is booming: The majority of the world’s tomatoes are pollinated by bumblebees, according to the animal rights organization PETA.
In 2023, around 190 million kilograms of tomatoes were produced worldwide. German bumblebee breeders are mostly distributors for large foreign breeders.
Also of interest: Brown Spots on Tomatoes? What Disease Could Be Behind It
Bred Bumblebees Pose a Threat to Native Insects
Even if the bred bumblebees are forms of the naturally occurring dark bumblebee, they should not escape and mate with wild relatives. Releasing non-native animals is prohibited in Germany. Bumblebee expert Harry Abraham and numerous nature and environmental organizations also see this as a threat to wild relatives.
Earth Bumblebee Threatens Native Bumblebee Species in Chile
The mating of bred bumblebees with wild animals could displace native wild bumblebee species. This “faunal distortion” can sustainably change the species population. As early as 2018, the Belgian Radio and Television Network (BRF) reported on bred bumblebees from Belgium that became an invasive species in South America. They brought the native giant bumblebee in South America to the brink of extinction.
Parasite Infestation Widespread in Commercial Bumblebee Breeding
In North America, escaped export bumblebees displaced native species and introduced unknown parasites and diseases. A British study from 2013 showed that commercially bred bumblebee colonies are often infested with parasites. These can also spread to wild relatives. Escaped animals could transmit pathogens either directly to other bumblebees or indirectly through flowers.
Use of Antibiotics Similar to Factory Farming
In large halls, bred bumblebees are kept in close quarters. This mass animal farming provides an ideal environment for fungi, viruses, and bacteria. In the tight boxes, parasites and bacteria can spread quickly. To prevent this, bumblebees are given antibiotics, says Abraham: “The animals are provided with antibiotics just to ensure they survive the pollination period in a greenhouse, which lasts only a few weeks.”
Bumblebee Colony Dealers Remain Silent
Even plant breeders who use bumblebees to pollinate their plantations remain silent. A Dutch tomato producer advertises with bumblebee pollination but remains silent about the fate of the animals. Feedback was eventually received from one of the largest European breeders. However, they, too, provide little information.
“We breed them with antibiotics just to ensure they survive the few weeks they are supposed to pollinate in a greenhouse,” says Abraham. “The animals are provided with antibiotics just to ensure they survive the pollination period in a greenhouse, which lasts only a few weeks.”
Their fate seems sealed.
Release Out of Pity in the United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, there are clear guidelines for bumblebee breeders: “The animals live for a maximum of 18 weeks anyway, then they die on their own,” assures a German dealer. Many British farmers release the bumblebees out of pity, saying that killing them is not necessary. The danger to wild bumblebees is also dismissed: “The bumblebees do not fly away; they always return to their colony, which is in the greenhouse.”
Secrecy in Bumblebee Breeding
Even plant breeders who use bumblebees are silent. A Dutch tomato producer advertises with bumblebee pollination but remains silent about the fate of the animals. Feedback was eventually received from one of the largest European breeders. However, they, too, provide little information about what happens to the bees after pollination or if they escape from the greenhouses. Bumblebee expert Harry Abraham says: “Bumblebee breeding is a closely guarded secret for many reasons.” Mass breeding and medication use do not fit the image of nature-friendly cultivation. A lot of energy is consumed, and bumblebee colonies are shipped worldwide–not very ecological.
Did you know that the “black hornet” is actually not a hornet?
How to grow sugar loaf lettuce properly in autumn and winter
Conclusion
Bumblebees ensure healthier plants, higher yields, and less need for pesticides. However, their transport is CO₂-intensive, and breeding consumes a lot of energy. The animals are apparently bred and used under questionable conditions. Their fate after pollination remains uncertain, casting doubt on the supposedly eco-friendly bumblebee business.
Follow myHOMEBOOK on PETBOOK