Honey pollination

Although the honey bee s sting is unpleasant, this tiny creature is crucial to the world s agricultural economy. Honey bees produce more than jjilOO million worth of honey each year, and, more importantly, the pollination of numerous plants by honey bees is responsible for the production of i20 billion worth of crops in the United States alone. 

As pesticides are applied, large numbers of honey bees and wild bees are poisoned resulting in not only a diminished honey crop, but perhaps more important, reduced crop pollination that is vital to agricultural production (51). The estimated yearly cost of reduced pollination and reduced honey production is about 230 million (Pimentel, D., in manuscript). 

Flowers of some orchids mimic both the appearance and sex pheromone of virgin females of certain species of bees or wasps. This sexual deception results in pollination by male hymenoptera that would not normally visit flowers. Japanese honey bee drones (Apis cerana japonica) cluster on the oriental orchid (Cymbidiumpumilum) while on their mating flights [ 134]. By comparing volatile profiles of orchids and the female hymenoptera they mimic, or by GC-EAD and GC-MS analysis of orchid volatiles, several compounds have been identified that may mediate this attraction for the solitary bee Andrena nigroaenea [135, 136] and the scoliid wasp Campsoscolia ciliata [135]. 

Obviously, pollinators are indispensable to most flowering plants. What is more easily overlooked is that they are critical to our own survival as well. Agriculture feeds the world, and about two-thirds of the world s crops require visits by animal pollinators to set fruit and seed. Various kinds of bees pollinate 60 percent of these crop plants, honey bees being the most important single species in this regard. In the United States alone, their contribution to crop pollination is worth billions of dollars every year. 

Brodmann, J., Twele, R Francke, W Yi-bo, L Xi-qiang, S. and Ayasse, M. (2009). Report orchid mimics honey bee alarm pheromone in order to attract hornets for pollination. Current Biol., 19, 1368-1372. 

Several seasons of field testing have shown a number of advantages in the use of the antifeeding approach to insect control. First, it is selective. Antifeeding compounds affect only pests which feed on the crop protected. Parasites and predators which walk over the treated foliage or feed on the affected insects are not killed, as with conventional insecticides. Honey bees and other pollinators are not affected by toxic deposits. 

As gardeners, we are most likely to notice the pest insects in our yards and gardens. However, entomologists estimate that more than 90 percent of all insects are beneficial. Wild and domestic bees and also some flies and moths pollinate crops this is essential for the development of many fruits, vegetables, and crops grown for seed. Honeybees are also farmed to provide honey, and silkworms are farmed to yield silk from their cocoons for fine clothing. 

Varroa Jacob semi has become a serious threat lo the maintenance of honey bee colonies so essential for the pollination of a variety of crops. Taufltivalinate was used to control this pest, but resistance first appeared in Sicily in 1991 and has spread lo other pans of Europe. Nijhuis et at. (I9S7) demonstrated that py rethrum extract synergized with PBO is very effective as a remedy against Varroa jutobsani. 

Bees exist in almost every part of the world, and are one of the most useful of all insects—not only is their honey highly prized and their beeswax useful, they also play a crucial role in pollinating plants, encouraging flowers to bloom for longer, and generating richer crops of fruit and vegetables. 

Consequently, bees provide substantial benefits to the maintenance of the biodiversity and the productivity of both natural and agricultural ecosystems [13,14]. However, with regard to agricultural ecosystems, it is important to stress that only 15 percent of the 100 or so crops that feed the world are serviced by domestic honey bees, while at least 80 percent are pollinated by wild bees and other wildlife [12]. 

Plant protection products and regulatory provisions on honey bees and pollinator insects in France... 

Honey bees are beneficial arthropods playing a key role in pollinating wild and crop plants. Unfortunately, during their foraging activity they can be exposed to pesticides. The members of the colony can also be poisoned indirectly by contaminated food brought back to the hive by the foragers. The aim of this chapter is to discuss some aspects of the acute toxicity of pesticides to Apis mellifera. 

Wilson, W.T., Sonnet, P.E. and Stoner, A. Pesticides and honey bee mortality. http //maarec.cas.psu.edu/bkCD/Pollination/Pesticides Mortality.html. 

Many wild and cultivated plants are visited not only by honey bees (Apis mellifera in particular) but also by non-Apis bees which facilitate their fruit and seed setting. These Hymenoptera are represented by more than 20000 species throughout the world, belonging to nine families Colletidae, Oxaeidae, Halictidae, Andrenidae, Melittidae, Fideliidae, Megachilidae, Anthophoridae, and Apidae [1]. This fauna is a natural resource which often sustains a prominent role in the pollination of crops and the maintenance of floral diversity, especially when honey bees are absent or not efficient. Many researchers have long emphasized the contribution of... 

Potential effects of transgene products on pollinating insects such as honey bees and bumble bees, which play a major role in seed production and fruit set of many crops, are of great importance. They feed on pollen and nectar and therefore it is necessary to determine the toxicity of the entomotoxin expressed in insect-resistant transgenic plants both in the short and long term. To date such studies with honey bees have been performed predominantly using artificial diets where the entomotoxins are... 

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