Introduction to special issue of the Journal of Pollination Ecology Crop pollination deficits

Pollination Ecology with Special Reference to Insects- a Review

Pollination is the process of transferring pollens to the stigma of conspecific plant and pollination ecology is the mutual relationship between flowers and pollinators. Pollination is a co-evolutionary process between flowering plants and pollinators, which dates back to millions of years. Insects are the most effective pollinators and have important role in pollination ecology. This review de...

Crop pollination services

Crop pollination by bees and other animals is an ecosystem service of enormous economic value (Losey andVaughan 2006; Allsopp et al. 2008). Pollination can increase the yield, quality, and stability of crops as diverse as almond, cacao, canola, coffee, sunflower, tomato and watermelon. Indeed, Klein et al. (in press) found that 75% of globally important crops benefit from animal pollination. Th...

Pollination Ecology in the Southwest

Conserving wild bees for crop pollination

A substantial proportion of the worlds crops rely on insect pollination, yet for many we have little or no information as to which pollinators are most effective. Pollinator management has traditionally focussed exclusively on one species, the honeybee, Apis mellifera. Yet this bee is not able to adequately pollinate some crops, and is an unreliable pollinator in cold and wet climates. Natural ...

Non-bee insects are important contributors to global crop pollination.

Wild and managed bees are well documented as effective pollinators of global crops of economic importance. However, the contributions by pollinators other than bees have been little explored despite their potential to contribute to crop production and stability in the face of environmental change. Non-bee pollinators include flies, beetles, moths, butterflies, wasps, ants, birds, and bats, amon...