Chapter 8 - Managed foraging for honey and crop pollination—Honey bees as livestock

Abstract

The managed honey bee colonies are critical for crop pollination worldwide and are the preferred pollinators. According to an estimate, approximately 70% of food crops globally are reliant on insect pollination to some extent. Honey bees are considered workhorses of pollination, as they contribute to pollination of majority of the crops due to their reliability attributed to factors such as the ease of transporting the colonies and placing them in fields, their ability to survive winters as a colony, and feasibility of manipulating colonies with various beekeeping practices. This chapter delves into the various facets of honey bee commercial pollination: the importance of honey bees for crop pollination and the economy, the advantages of using honey bees for commercial pollination and the challenges that honey bees face during crop pollination. The chapter also details the honey bee colony standards required for crop pollination and the potential strategies to enhance bee foraging, commercial pollination and overall bee health.