July 12, 2025, 11:11 am | Read time: 8 minutes

Bumblebees play a key role as pollinators in vegetable cultivation. Tomato growers, in particular, benefit from their unique vibration pollination. This method ensures high yields and better fruit quality. 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 dealers and vegetable producers handle these accusations. The bumblebee business is tightly organized and lucrative. Yet, when questioned, those involved respond cautiously.

Follow myHOMEBOOK on WhatsApp now

Only Bumblebees Are Suitable as Pollinators for Tomatoes in Greenhouses

Flowering and crop plants need to be pollinated. Tomatoes, eggplants, and potatoes, in particular, require pollinators. In the wild, wind, birds, bees, and bumblebees take on this task. But in greenhouses, free-living insects have difficulty reaching the plants. Tomatoes are often grown in protected environments, preventing contact with bees or bumblebees.

Until the late 1980s, growers had to painstakingly shake their plants by hand to ensure pollination. In commercial cultivation, hand-shaking plants is too time-consuming and expensive. Therefore, more and more vegetable and fruit farms are turning to specially bred bumblebee colonies.

Environmental Groups Criticize Mass Breeding of Bumblebees for Tomato Pollination

Bumblebees can vibrate and shake deep-seated pollen from tomato blossoms. This ability makes them particularly interesting for commercial agriculture. They have been specifically bred since the 1980s.

Bumblebees are a type of wild bee. In Germany, there are 41 species of bumblebees, including the dark earth bumblebee. This species 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. Bumblebees visit about 3,000 flowers per animal during their 18-hour workday. 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 of bumblebee colonies are used in greenhouses. Forty workers can pollinate about 1,000 square meters of tomato plants for eight to twelve weeks. The advantage: fewer chemical agents against pests and plant diseases. Despite these advantages, 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 Tomato Pollination Worldwide

A Dutch bumblebee breeder advertises particularly long-lasting and large colonies. Its “pollination potential” is up to 30 percent higher than that of other providers. About 30 companies worldwide engage 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 breeders from abroad.

Also interesting: 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 earth bumblebee, they should not escape and mate with wild relatives. The release of non-native animals is prohibited in Germany. Bumblebee expert Harry Abraham and numerous nature and environmental groups also see this as a threat to free-living 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 Broadcasting and Television Company 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 brought unknown parasites and diseases with them. 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 via flowers.

Antibiotic Use Similar to Livestock Farming

Bred bumblebees are raised in large halls, packed closely together. This mass animal husbandry provides an ideal environment for fungi, viruses, and bacteria. In the tight boxes, parasites and bacteria can spread quickly. Breeders must therefore resort to preventive medication. “We know the problem from livestock farming,” says Nabu Südbaden. “There, medications like antibiotics are used prophylactically.” The same applies to bumblebees, says Abraham: “The animals are given antibiotics just to ensure they survive the few weeks they are supposed to pollinate in a greenhouse.”

Bumblebee Colony Dealers Remain Silent

Those who want their plants pollinated by bumblebees can order the animals online. However, prices are not publicly available. The animals are shipped in the containers in which they will later live in the greenhouse.

The bumblebees are used in the greenhouse for about eight to twelve weeks. More than a million bumblebee colonies are used annually in Europe alone. Although bumblebee breeding is mostly a seasonal business, animals are sold year-round, as a dealer told PETBOOK.

A Dutch large-scale breeder advertises his bumblebees and a vast dealer network. However, he does not allow a look behind the scenes. Almost every German bumblebee dealer has connections to this breeder. Yet, they also provide little information.

 “We don’t breed the animals, we just distribute them,” was a common response to inquiries. What happens to the bumblebees after pollination? No answer. The fact is: they cannot be released or returned. Their fate seems sealed.

Killing After Work Is Done?

In the UK, there are clear guidelines from bumblebee breeders: bumblebees are killed after their work is done. The German Animal Welfare Association reports cruel methods. Freezing or burning nests is “common practice.” However, the boxes are often not cooled long enough. The result: animals awaken from cold torpor, suffocate, or starve in plastic bags. To save costs, bumblebee nests are also burned, causing many animals to die painfully.

Release Out of Pity in the UK

Surveys show that many British vegetable farmers release bumblebees out of pity. Killing is not necessary, assures a German dealer: “The animals live at most 23 weeks anyway, then they die on their own.” 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.”

More on the topic

0

Furry Buzzers How to Attract Bumblebees to Your Garden or Balcony

Also Found in the Garden Did You Know That the “Black Hornet” Is Actually Not a Hornet?

Secrecy in Bumblebee Breeding

Even plant breeders who use bumblebees to pollinate their plantations remain silent. A Dutch tomato producer advertises bumblebee pollination but remains silent about the fate of the animals. Feedback was finally received from one of the largest European bumblebee breeders from the Netherlands, who distributes his animals through German dealers who gave no information. Yet: not a word on the crucial questions of what happens to the bumblebees after pollination and in the event of an 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 natural cultivation. A lot of energy is consumed, bumblebee colonies are shipped worldwide–not very ecological. The suspicion of cruel killing damages the image.

Conclusion

Bumblebees ensure healthier plants, higher yields, and fewer 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 is uncertain, and their impact on native insects must continue to be monitored. Transparency and openness from bumblebee breeders and vegetable farms are needed, but they prefer to remain silent. This harms the reputation of the supposedly eco-friendly bumblebee business.

This text first appeared on our partner portal PETBOOK