Besides increasing habitat diversity for bees, everyone who must use pesticides
should follow the pesticide usage best practices. Pesticides have been shown to
cause notable problems for honey bees and other pollinators even if the effects are
not outright lethal; research is still ongoing. Best practices include but are not limited
to the following: use approved least-toxic pesticides, follow product instructions,
start with the lowest recommended dose, select appropriate timing including when
bees are not active, manage pesticides drift through weather conditions, application
method, equipment settings, and spray formulation. At the same time, governments
are reviewing research and may control pesticide use to protect honey bees and all
pollinators in general.
2 Pollinators and Pollination
Pollinators are animals that facilitate the reproductive cycle of over 75% of flowering
plants, including most fruits, and vegetables. These animals include small mammals
such as bats, birds, and many types of insects including the most well-known and
accessible honey bee.
The reproductive cycle of flowering plants includes pollination, which is the
transfer of pollen grains (male haploid gametophytes) to the female gametophytes,
which contain the ovules. The pollen grains produce male gametes, which in turn
fertilize the ovules; these fertilized ovules develop into plant seeds. The ovary in
which seeds are contained may develop into fruit. The seeds and/or fruit are then
disseminated by various methods to fertile land in which they may grow as new
plants. These plants then supply significant resources to other organisms including
humans: food, building materials, fibers, and so on.
To incorporate pollinators into their life cycle, these plants produce flowers that
contain pollen and nectar, which are both sources of food for bees and other
pollinating insects. Besides providing food, serving as shelter and nesting spots for
their various pollinators, plants also produce resins. Resin is an important compound
that honey bees specifically retrieve to produce propolis, which is used to fortify the
hive, improve hygiene by preventing parasites and inhibiting fungi and bacteria, and
mummify carcasses they cannot remove from the hive [1].
As the pollinator travels and gathers food and materials from these flowering
plants, pollen grains stick to its body and are carried from flower to flower, fertilizing
other plants of the same species along the way. Thus, pollinators and flowering
plants have tightly integrated and mutually beneficial relationships [2].
Pollination, particularly that provided by insects, is essential to agriculture, which
not only provides food to humans but also fibers, fuel, and feed to our domesticated
animals that further provide sources for meat.
While there is a very wide variety of animal pollinators contributing to the
ecosystem, most animal pollinators are insects, and within insects, most are bees.
Bees consist of thousands of species but are broadly split between two basic
categories for the purposes of study in agriculture and other industries of interest
to humans: wild (native) bees and honey bees.
1 Understanding, Conservation, and Protection of Precious Natural Resources: Bees
5
should follow the pesticide usage best practices. Pesticides have been shown to
cause notable problems for honey bees and other pollinators even if the effects are
not outright lethal; research is still ongoing. Best practices include but are not limited
to the following: use approved least-toxic pesticides, follow product instructions,
start with the lowest recommended dose, select appropriate timing including when
bees are not active, manage pesticides drift through weather conditions, application
method, equipment settings, and spray formulation. At the same time, governments
are reviewing research and may control pesticide use to protect honey bees and all
pollinators in general.
2 Pollinators and Pollination
Pollinators are animals that facilitate the reproductive cycle of over 75% of flowering
plants, including most fruits, and vegetables. These animals include small mammals
such as bats, birds, and many types of insects including the most well-known and
accessible honey bee.
The reproductive cycle of flowering plants includes pollination, which is the
transfer of pollen grains (male haploid gametophytes) to the female gametophytes,
which contain the ovules. The pollen grains produce male gametes, which in turn
fertilize the ovules; these fertilized ovules develop into plant seeds. The ovary in
which seeds are contained may develop into fruit. The seeds and/or fruit are then
disseminated by various methods to fertile land in which they may grow as new
plants. These plants then supply significant resources to other organisms including
humans: food, building materials, fibers, and so on.
To incorporate pollinators into their life cycle, these plants produce flowers that
contain pollen and nectar, which are both sources of food for bees and other
pollinating insects. Besides providing food, serving as shelter and nesting spots for
their various pollinators, plants also produce resins. Resin is an important compound
that honey bees specifically retrieve to produce propolis, which is used to fortify the
hive, improve hygiene by preventing parasites and inhibiting fungi and bacteria, and
mummify carcasses they cannot remove from the hive [1].
As the pollinator travels and gathers food and materials from these flowering
plants, pollen grains stick to its body and are carried from flower to flower, fertilizing
other plants of the same species along the way. Thus, pollinators and flowering
plants have tightly integrated and mutually beneficial relationships [2].
Pollination, particularly that provided by insects, is essential to agriculture, which
not only provides food to humans but also fibers, fuel, and feed to our domesticated
animals that further provide sources for meat.
While there is a very wide variety of animal pollinators contributing to the
ecosystem, most animal pollinators are insects, and within insects, most are bees.
Bees consist of thousands of species but are broadly split between two basic
categories for the purposes of study in agriculture and other industries of interest
to humans: wild (native) bees and honey bees.
1 Understanding, Conservation, and Protection of Precious Natural Resources: Bees
5