The Anthophilic rift: advancing a sociology of biodiversity loss through the pollination crisis

We develop a theoretical foundation for understanding the social drivers of biodiversity loss through an analysis of the pollination crisis. Together, settler colonialism and capitalism have disrupted the relationship between insect pollinators and the flowering plants that they pollinate on a global scale, what we call the ‘Anthophilic rift.’ Settler colonialism reshapes ecologies while capitalism homogenizes landscapes through its drive to make profits and its reliance on technological fixes. The result has been a precarious global dependency on one animal, the western honey bee, for an essential ecosystem service. We conclude with showing how the Anthophilic rift theorization serves as a useful tool for situating various social and ecological processes in understandings of biodiversity loss.