Editing Pollination (section)

===Improving pollination in areas with suboptimal bee densities===

In some instances growers' demand for beehives far exceeds the available supply. The number of managed beehives in the US has steadily declined from close to 6&nbsp;million after WWII, to less than 2.5&nbsp;million today. In contrast, the area dedicated to growing bee-pollinated crops has grown over 300% in the same time period. Additionally, in the past five years there has been a decline in winter managed beehives, which has reached an unprecedented rate of colony losses at near 30%.<ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Biesmeijer JC, Roberts SP, Reemer M, Ohlemüller R, Edwards M, Peeters T, Schaffers AP, Potts SG, Kleukers R, Thomas CD, Settele J, Kunin WE | display-authors = 6 | title = Parallel declines in pollinators and insect-pollinated plants in Britain and the Netherlands | journal = Science | volume = 313 | issue = 5785 | pages = 351–4 | date = July 2006 | pmid = 16857940 | doi = 10.1126/science.1127863 | bibcode = 2006Sci...313..351B | s2cid = 16273738 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Cox-Foster DL, Conlan S, Holmes EC, Palacios G, Evans JD, Moran NA, Quan PL, Briese T, Hornig M, Geiser DM, Martinson V, vanEngelsdorp D, Kalkstein AL, Drysdale A, Hui J, Zhai J, Cui L, Hutchison SK, Simons JF, Egholm M, Pettis JS, Lipkin WI | display-authors = 6 | title = A metagenomic survey of microbes in honey bee colony collapse disorder | journal = Science | volume = 318 | issue = 5848 | pages = 283–7 | date = October 2007 | pmid = 17823314 | doi = 10.1126/science.1146498 | bibcode = 2007Sci...318..283C | s2cid = 14013425 | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | vauthors = Woteki C | title = The road to pollinator health | journal = Science | volume = 341 | issue = 6147 | pages = 695 | date = August 2013 | pmid = 23950499 | doi = 10.1126/science.1244271 | bibcode = 2013Sci...341..695W | author-link = Catherine Woteki | doi-access = free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.efsa.europa.eu/en/press/news/130116|title=EFSA Press Release: EFSA identifies risks to bees from neonicotinoids |publisher=Efsa.europa.eu |date= 2013-01-16|access-date=2014-04-18}}</ref> At present, there is an enormous demand for beehive rentals that cannot always be met. There is a clear need across the agricultural industry for a management tool to draw pollinators into cultivations and encourage them to preferentially visit and pollinate the flowering crop. By attracting pollinators like honey bees and increasing their foraging behavior, particularly in the center of large plots, we can increase grower returns and optimize yield from their plantings. ISCA Technologies,<ref name="ISCA Technologies">{{cite web |url=http://www.iscatech.com/exec/index.html |title=ISCA Technologies: A Leader of Innovative Pest Management Tools and Solutions |publisher=Iscatech.com |access-date=2014-04-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410230851/http://www.iscatech.com/exec/index.html |archive-date=2014-04-10}}</ref> from [[Riverside, California]], created a semiochemical formulation called SPLAT Bloom, that modifies the behavior of honey bees, inciting them to visit flowers in every portion of the field.{{Advert inline|date=June 2022}}