15 research outputs found

    Microprocessor-controlled monitoring of honeybee flight activity at the hive entrance

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    An important parameter in evaluating the activity of a honeybee colony is given by the number of bees leaving and entering the hive as a function of time. The microprocessor-controlled counter described here presents many advantages over previous counting devices. The counter fits the standard hive measurement (10 combs), and provides access to the hive via 32 bi-directional channels. The very small infrared detectors in each channel are only 0.1 mm apart, and are controlled by an asynchronous sequential algorithm, which improves the counter's precision. Results of measurements of the daily activity of honeybee colonies under different conditions (normal, in the presence of pesticides, or during swarming) are presented

    Importance of pollinators in changing landscapes for world crops

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    The extent of our reliance on animal pollination for world crop production for human food has not previously been evaluated and the previous estimates for countries or continents have seldom used primary data. In this review, we expand the previous estimates using novel primary data from 200 countries and found that fruit, vegetable or seed production from 87 of the leading global food crops is dependent upon animal pollination, while 28 crops do not rely upon animal pollination. However, global production volumes give a contrasting perspective, since 60% of global production comes from crops that do not depend on animal pollination, 35% from crops that depend on pollinators, and 5% are unevaluated. Using all crops traded on the world market and setting aside crops that are solely passively self-pollinated, wind-pollinated or parthenocarpic, we then evaluated the level of dependence on animal-mediated pollination for crops that are directly consumed by humans. We found that pollinators are essential for 13 crops, production is highly pollinator dependent for 30, moderately for 27, slightly for 21, unimportant for 7, and is of unknown significance for the remaining 9. We further evaluated whether local and landscape-wide management for natural pollination services could help to sustain crop diversity and production. Case studies for nine crops on four continents revealed that agricultural intensification jeopardizes wild bee communities and their stabilizing effect on pollination services at the landscape scale
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