Honeybees, dreaded for their sting but valued for their honey, should be treasured more as pollinators. They transmit pollen from male to female flowers for fertilisation, which is essential for plants to bear seeds and fruit. The commercial importance of bees as pollinating agents is, thus, far greater than that of the products extracted from beehives such as honey and bee’s wax. Much of the grains, oilseeds, pulses, fruit and vegetables that we consume would not be there if honeybees and other pollinators were missing.
In the wild, these pollinators have traditionally played a vital role in increasing plant biodiversity through crossbreeding and the admixing of genes. Bees have also helped preserve some useful species of cross-pollinated plants, including some rare types of orchids that now enjoy good export demand.
Globally, nearly 70 per cent of plants need pollinators. Nearly half of them are commercial crops. In India, more than 80 per cent of crop plants either rely wholly on insects for fertilisation or benefit from these pollinating agents. As pollinators, the contribution of honeybees to agricultural gross domestic product by way of incremental production is incalculable. Studies conducted in India and abroad have indicated a crop productivity increase of between 10 per cent and over 200 per cent owing to pollination by honeybees. Oilseeds and fruit, notably litchi, are among the biggest beneficiaries of the honeybee-induced spurt in output. Some studies have even pointed to an improvement in the quality of the produce due to better pollination and fertilisation.
This has led to the emergence of “migratory bee-keeping,” in which entrepreneurs maintain mobile bee colonies that can be carried from one place to another to pollinate the crops and farmers are charged a fee for this service. The farmers do not mind paying for it as they reap larger crop harvests of better quality produce, which fetch higher prices.
Honeybees originated in the Indian subcontinent and spread to different parts of the world where some of them have evolved further into useful species. A European honeybee species, Apis mellifera, has been introduced into India from Italy because it is suitable for captive rearing. This is now among the eight most predominant honeybee species in the country. However, India still retains the maximum biodiversity in honeybees.
It is a pity this biodiversity is now in jeopardy, largely due to habitat destruction and growing use of pesticides. There must be a conscious effort to save honeybees. They are indispensable not only for raising the potential yields of cross-pollinated crops but, more so, for crops grown under controlled environments in poly-houses.
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“There is a need to document the biodiversity of honeybees and other pollinators. The enumeration of honeybee species and recording of their characteristics have not received the same priority as the documentation of several other insects. The Western Ghats and eastern Himalayas are, in particular, biodiversity-rich regions,” notes Dr S Ramani, chief of an all-India crops research project on honeybees and pollinators. This project, being implemented in 16 centres across the country, is developing technologies for conservation, augmentation and use of insect pollinators. The honeybee genome has already been sequenced and mapped.
India also has several species of honeybees that are devoid of the scary sting, particularly in the north-east. Such bees could be handy for pollination of crops under controlled conditions. These species are also export-worthy.
One of the indigenous stingless species of honeybees, Trigona iridipennis, is a good pollinator as well. Its conservation, multiplication and gainful exploitation can help enhance yields of oilseeds, vegetables, fruit and pulses. All these are items that have contributed to high food inflation in recent months because of inadequate production.
Thus, it is imperative to not only promote beekeeping but also to preserve its biodiversity. Since beekeeping does not need land or heavy investment, it is an ideal commercial activity for landless farmers. Higher crop yields will be the bonus.