Most insects
are beneficial to humans either directly or indirectly. Directly beneficial
insects provide humans with material goods such as honey (honey bees), silk
(silk moths), dyes and shellac (scale insects), and tannic acid and inks
(insect galls). Without insects, weed control would be more difficult. The
beneficial insects also work as insect predators and parasites of pests and
pollinators.
Pollinators are
small insects which are responsible to transfer pollen of one flower to another
for the development of fruits and seeds. This important service is done by
butterflies, bees, flies, moths, wasps, beetles, and some other insect. These
little friends of man are crucial in the functioning of almost all terrestrial
ecosystems including agriculture because they are in the front line of
sustainable productivity through plant reproduction. It is estimated by
Greenleaf and Kremen in 2006 that 66 per cent of angiosperms (i.e. beans,
wheat, rice, and corn etc.) require animal pollination for sexual reproduction.
According to a significant study carried by Klein and others, an estimated 35
per cent of crop production worldwide is dependent on insect pollination. The
total economic value of crop pollination worldwide has been estimated at many
trillion rupees annually. And moreover, populations and diversity of these
insects also serve as bio-indicators of our environment.
In India, most
of the food crops need insect pollinators for sufficient successful
pollination. Oilseeds, vegetables, and many fruits such as almond, apple,
apricot, peach, strawberry, citrus and litchi crops are profoundly reliant on
pollinators. The importance of bees for mankind is very aptly summed up by the
great scientist, Sir Albert Einstein as, “If something eliminated bees from our
planet, mankind would soon perish.”
But today we
are in real danger of facing the serious threat of losing bees. The loss of bee
pollinators has been reported all over the world. The population of most pollinators have
declined to levels that cannot sustain their services of pollination in both
agroecosystems and natural habitats. One of every three bites of food eaten
worldwide is depended on pollinators, especially bees, for a successful
harvest. Bees are the most important pollinators for many agricultural crops
and their absence will result in lower yields.
It is high time
to make efforts for conservation and management of the diversified group of
bees and other insect pollinators should be seriously made to utilize their
potential as crop pollinators and overall biodiversity conservation. But
Research activities in India on bees or on other pollinators are in a state of
neglect. Despite the global worry, no study had been done to assess directly the
scale of the decline in natural pollinators. The crucial role of bees as
providers of pollination services in developing countries like India cannot be
ignored.
Most of the
small-scale farmers are not aware of the value of pollination services crops
they grow. Farmers have very limited knowledge on pollination and pollinators;
they often take pollinators for granted. In India at present, 150 million
colonies are needed to meet the pollination requirement of around 50 million
hectare bee dependant crops but there are only 1.2 million colonies present.
(TNAU Aristech Portal). No attention is been given to beekeeping as such
compared to other countries even though there is a wide scope for beekeeping in
India.
As of June 22 -28,
2020 is being observed as The Pollinator Week, there is a dire need to aware
our farmers about the contribution of wild pollinators towards the production
of their crops and farm profitability. The active participation of the
researcher and extension specialist is needed to educate them about the benefits
of pollinator and consequence of their decline.
