how bees are use to plinnate crops- crash course

What crops are pollinated by bees?

Examples of different types of important agricultural crops that are pollinated by bees. European honey bees ( Apis mellifera) get the most credit for crop pollination. Honey bee colonies with thousands of foraging workers are easy to transport between farms and orchards. But are honey bees really doing all the hard work?

Why are wild bees important to agriculture?

Wild bees account for about a quarter of insect agricultural pollination in the United States based on some estimates. They’re vital to growing blueberries, apples, alfalfa, coffee, and more! Humans have cultivated squash, gourds, and pumpkins for 10,000 years.

How do you use bumble bees for pollination?

There are two basic methods to use bumble bees for pollination in the field. The first is to rely on wild populations of bumble bees. This will be most effective if the field is relatively small and located in a diverse landscape, including undisturbed areas.

How much does a bee pollinate per acre?

This bee is so good at its job that it is the only solitary ground-nesting species used on an industrial scale. These bees pollinate about 2,500 pounds of seed per acre, compared to only 185 pounds per acre without the help of commercial pollinators.

How do bees help food crops?

Bees play a big role in agriculture. They pollinate crops, increase yields, and give rise to a lucrative honey industry. Bees are so important, in fact, that millions are spent renting hives to pollinate farmers' crops. Over one third of the food we eat relies on pollination by bees, either directly or indirectly.

How are bees used in pollinating food crops?

Like other insects, honey bees pollinate plants as they forage on the flowers. As they gather pollen and nectar to return to their hives, they transfer pollen from one flower to another. This initiates the plant pollination process.

How bees help plants grow?

Bees are essential in growing flowers and plants. They use the process of pollination where they transfer tiny little grains of pollen from the flower of one plant to the flower of another of the same kind of plant. Transferring this pollen helps the flowers to continue to grow.

How do bees increase crop yield?

In the process of gathering food the bees help spread pollen from one flower to another and in this way they pollinate the crops they visit. Honeybees help increase yields for many tropical crops. Fruit trees such as lychee, avocados, oranges, and macadamia nuts are examples of bee pollinated plants.

How do crops get pollinated?

Pollinators visit flowers in their search for food (nectar and pollen). During a flower visit, a pollinator may accidentally brush against the flower's reproductive parts, unknowingly depositing pollen from a different flower. The plant then uses the pollen to produce a fruit or seed.

How do bees work?

Each worker bee visits thousands of flowers to collect nectar and helps turn it into sweet, nutrient-rich honey. As a side-effect, bees also help to pollinate a wide range of plants by collecting pollen and spreading it between flowers.

What are the benefits of bees?

Bees have cultural and environmental importance as pollinators and producers of honey and medicinal products. The movement of pollen between plants is necessary for plants to fertilize and reproduce. Both farmed and wild bees control the growth and quality of vegetation — when they thrive, so do crops.

How are bees important?

Bees are one of the world's most important pollinators for food crops — each day we rely on bees and other pollinators. In fact, out of every three bites we consume relies on pollination. Yet bee populations continue to decline due to the rampant use of pesticides and other environmental factors — like climate change.

Are bees important to crops?

It's their work as crop pollinators. This agricultural benefit of honey bees is estimated to be between 10 and 20 times the total value of honey and beeswax. In fact, bee pollination accounts for about $15 billion in added crop value. Honey bees are like flying dollar bills buzzing over U.S. crops.

How effective is bee pollination?

Bees are often considered to be effective pollinators in both agricultural and natural ecosystems but could be ineffective pollinators in that they collect large quantities of pollen for food provision but deliver little to stigmas.

How Pollination Works

How could pollination, which seems to be so simple of a process, be so vital? Once the bee lands on the desirable plant or flower, bees suck up the nectar—which is the basis for honey—using their proboscis (an elongated mouthpart) and store it in their honey stomach. Fun fact here: Bees have two stomachs.

What does pollen do for us?

Let’s just put it this way… without bees, many of the country’s crops would not even exist! Bee colonies take care of the pollination of crops like apples, melons, berries, cherries, and even broccoli and almonds! It is estimated that there are about 7 million bee colonies in the U.S.

Value of pollination

According to calculations by Calderone and Morse (2000), the value of honey bee pollination to agriculture in the United States is as high as $US 14.6 billion per year. In Michigan alone the total value to the main fruit and vegetable crops dependent on honey bee pollination is about $300 million per year.

Prices for pollination

Most growers will already have their pollination contracts set, but expect to pay anywhere from $40 to $70 per colony for spring fruit pollination. There is a range here because if you only need 10 hives, you might be expected to pay a higher price than the other grower who is renting 500 hives. Colonies might be also of different strengths.

Hive densities

The invasion of Varroa mite has decimated the numbers of feral (unmanaged, wild) honeybee colonies that used to contribute to pollination in addition to rented colonies.

Hive placement

If possible, place the colonies in a sheltered location with the entrances facing east. This will encourage earlier activity as the hive warms in the morning sun. Hives should be spread out around the field to maximize floral visitation, with a maximum of 300 yards between colonies.

Native pollinators

Many other helpful insects are active in your fruit crop, and with 20,000 recorded species of bees worldwide, some local native bees are probably active in Michigan’s small fruit crops providing free pollination.

Pest management during pollination

Do not apply broad-spectrum insecticides when flower buds are open or you may kill a significant number of pollinators. Bee hives should be removed immediately after pollination if post-bloom pesticide applications are planned. By monitoring for pest problems carefully during bloom, growers can help minimize the need for pest control.

Pollination information available online

Although it is a little outdated (first printed in 1976), the book "Insect Pollination of Cultivated Crop Plants" covers nearly all crops (fruits and vegetables) and is the best reference available for pollination to-date. It has been out of the print for many years, but the book is available free online at: http://gears.tucson.ars.ag.gov/book/.

What provinces are responsible for the extinction of bees?

In the Sichuan Province, a major fruit-producing part of the world, heavy pesticide use has led to the localized extinction of all native and even managed bee species. In order to pollinate apples, farmers are required to do the pollinating. These “human pollinators” climb trees with a small container of apple pollen.

What is a killer bee?

A “killer bee.”. The term “killer bee” describes a highly aggressive, non-native bee brought to the Americas for a Brazilian experiment to breed better honey bees. To do this, scientists interbred European honey bees with African honey bees.

What is the pollinator of rabbiteye blueberries?

Habropoda laboriosa is such an effective pollinator of rabbiteye blueberry ( Vaccinium ashei) in the southeastern United States that each female is estimated to be worth between $18 and $20 to a commercial blueberry grower. The southeastern blueberry bee, Habropoda laboriosa.

How many species of bees are there in the world?

The genus Apis –the honey bees–includes seven described species, including the giant honey bee, the dwarf honey bees, the eastern honey bees, and the European honey bee. The European honey bee ( Apis mellifera) is most familiar to residents of the United States. Apis mellifera is not native to North America.

How many pounds of seed do bees pollinate?

This bee is so good at its job that it is the only solitary ground-nesting species used on an industrial scale. These bees pollinate about 2,500 pounds of seed per acre, compared to only 185 pounds per acre without the help of commercial pollinators. Nomia sp., an alkali bee. Apple Bees.

What do humans depend on for pollination?

Crop Pollinating Bees. Humans depend on pollination for our most nutritious and flavorful foods. Our diets are based mostly on self-pollinated or wind-pollinated grains. But crops made possible by pollinators provide diversity in our diets, including certain fruits, vegetables, nuts, spices, and coffee.

What is the third largest crop in the United States?

Alkali Bee and Alfalfa. Alfalfa, commonly used for animal feed, is the third-largest crop in the United States today. Growing alfalfa requires a massive amount of seed production–over 80,000 tons each year. This is made possible by insect pollination. Not all bees get along with alfalfa.