Last Friday President Obama signed an executive order to set up a “Pollinator Health Task Force” in order to investigate the precipitous population decline of pollinators, like the honey bee.

Although honey bees and pollinators are often seen as a nuisance, the opposite is true. Pollinators are a vital cog in the economic machinery that sustains both the American food supply and economy:

Honey bee pollination alone adds more than $15 billion in value to agricultural crops each year in the United States. The President is worried that a continued loss of commercial honey bee colonies poses a threat to the economic stability of commercial beekeeping and pollination operations in the United States, which could have profound implications for agriculture and food.

Insect pollination is integral to food security in the United States. Honey bees enable the production of at least 90 commercially grown crops in North America. Globally, 87 of the leading 115 food crops evaluated are dependent on animal pollinators, contributing 35% of global food production.

Pollinators contribute more than 24 billion dollars to the United States economy, of which honey bees account for more than 15 billion dollars through their vital role in keeping fruits, nuts, and vegetables in our diets.

Native wild pollinators, such as bumble bees and alfalfa leafcutter bees, also contribute substantially to the domestic economy. In 2009, the crop benefits from native insect pollination in the United States were valued at more than 9 billion dollars.

The number of managed honey bee colonies in the United States has declined steadily over the past 60 years, from 6 million colonies (beehives) in 1947 to 4 million in 1970, 3 million in 1990, and just 2.5 million today. Given the heavy dependence of certain crops on commercial pollination, reduced honey bee populations pose a real threat to domestic agriculture.

Some crops, such as almonds, are almost exclusively pollinated by honey bees, and many crops rely on honey bees for more than 90 percent of their pollination. California’s almond industry alone requires the pollination services of approximately 1.4 million beehives annually—60 percent of all U.S. beehives—yielding 80 percent of the worldwide almond production worth 4.8 billion dollars each year.

Since 2006, commercial beekeepers in the United States have seen honey bee colony loss rates increase to an average of 30 percent each winter, compared to historical loss rates of 10 to 15 percent. In 2013–14, the overwintering loss rate was 23.2 percent, down from 30.5 percent the previous year but still greater than historical averages and the self-reported acceptable winter mortality rate.

Over the past few decades, there has been a significant loss of pollinators, including honey bees, native bees, birds, bats, and butterflies, from the environment. The number of migrating Monarch butterflies sank to the lowest recorded population level in 2013-14, and there is an imminent risk of failed migration.

Therefore, President Obama is attempting to mitigate a threat to farmers, producers, consumers, and environmentalists alike; if the bees can be saved then the economy and food supply of America can be, too.