While people have been confined to their homes this spring, wildlife has faced less human disturbance, traffic and polluting fumes. One creature that may see a much-needed revival is the wild bee, scientists say. The world's most important pollinators, bees fertilize one-third of the food we eat and 80% of flowering plants. A University of Reading study found that bees and other pollinating insects have a global economic value of $120 billion-150 billion. Yet they are in rapid global decline, due to habitat loss, pollution and the use of pesticides, among other factors. A 2015 Canadian study estimated that 24 billion bees and wasps are killed by vehicles on roads across North America every year. As lockdown puts a number of insect-harming factors on hold, conservationists hope some of these changes could be here to stay.
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