Insect Pollinated Crops, Insect Pollinators and US Agriculture: Trend Analysis of Aggregate Data for the Period 1992–2009

In the US, the cultivated area (hectares) and production (tonnes) of crops that require or benefit from insect pollination (directly dependent crops: apples, almonds, blueberries, cucurbits, etc.) increased from 1992, the first year in this study, through 1999 and continued near those levels through 2009; aggregate yield (tonnes/hectare) remained unchanged. The value of directly dependent crops attributed to all insect pollination (2009 USD) decreased from $14.29 billion in 1996, the first year for value data in this study, to$10.69 billion in 2001, but increased thereafter, reaching $15.12 billion by 2009. The values attributed to honey bees and non-Apis pollinators followed similar patterns, reaching$11.68 billion and $3.44 billion, respectively, by 2009. The cultivated area of crops grown from seeds resulting from insect pollination (indirectly dependent crops: legume hays, carrots, onions, etc.) was stable from 1992 through 1999, but has since declined. Production of those crops also declined, albeit not as rapidly as the decline in cultivated area; this asymmetry was due to increases in aggregate yield. The value of indirectly dependent crops attributed to insect pollination declined from$15.45 billion in 1996 to $12.00 billion in 2004, but has since trended upward. The value of indirectly dependent crops attributed to honey bees and non-Apis pollinators, exclusive of alfalfa leafcutter bees, has declined since 1996 to$5.39 billion and $1.15 billion, respectively in 2009. The value of alfalfa hay attributed to alfalfa leafcutter bees ranged between$4.99 and $7.04 billion. Trend analysis demonstrates that US producers have a continued and significant need for insect pollinators and that a diminution in managed or wild pollinator populations could seriously threaten the continued production of insect pollinated crops and crops grown from seeds resulting from insect pollination

Proximate mechanisms of age polyethism in the honey bee, Apis mellifera L.

Workers in most insect societies exhibit a division of labor known as age polyethism, so named because workers tend to perform different tasks at different times in their lives. The most common explanation for this phenomenon involves a weak causal link between a worker's age and its occupation. However, available estimates of age effects are generally confounded with other sources of variability. Further, there is considerable variation in the age at which each task is performed. Consequently, the role of age in division of labor remains unresolved. An alternative model, christened 'foraging-for-work', explains age polyethism without a causal link between age and occupation. The specific algorithm, however, is too restrictive to apply in many task situations, and it is inconsistent with existing data on how workers actually locate and select tasks in certain contexts. Therefore, it cannot serve as a general model for task location/selection or for age polyethism. The model's conceptual basis, however, that an age-neutral mechanism can generate age polyethism, is an important contribution that demands further study. The current dialogue over proximate mechanisms of age polyethism has helped to clarify the pattern of behavioral ontogeny in honey bees. A conservative interpretation of existing data is that behavioral ontogeny is characterized by a nest phase followed by a foraging phase. The timing of the transition between these phases is determined more by the environment and physiological processes than by age. Whether nest tasks also follow a necessary sequence is less certain and requires further study. © Inra/DIB/AGIB/Elsevier, Pari

Bee Economics: A Computer Model for Economic Analysis of Beekeeping Operations

E.B. 95-24All the instructions necessary to use Bee Economics are included in this document. It is important to have a basic understanding of Microsoft Excel before using Bee Economics. Bee Economics consists of several modules that are linked together so that information entered in one module flows to appropriate sections of other modules. The modules are identified in the section called Description of Modules. Information about entering data and using Bee Economics is included in Getting Started. Helpful hints for the Bee Planner Module, an effective forecasting tool, are included in the section called Hints for the Bee Planner Module. Finally, the records and economic analysis of a sample beeke ping operation are included in the section, Sample Model Output

Tonnes of indirectly dependent crops per person in the United States.

<p>Predicted values (blue) include adjustments for serial autocorrelation and are the same as the predicted – structural values (also blue) based solely on the structural elements of the model. ID = indirectly dependent.</p

General farm and US population data.

1<p>millions;</p>2<p>hectares; THIF = total hectares in farms; na = not available.</p

Estimates for the US population.

<p>Predicted values (pink) include adjustments for serial autocorrelation. Predicted – structural values (blue) are based solely on the structural elements of the model.</p

Hectares of directly dependent crops as a percentage of total hectares in farms.

<p>Predicted values (blue) include adjustments for serial autocorrelation and are the same as the predicted – structural values (also blue) based solely on the structural elements of the model. DD = directly dependent.</p

Total production (tonnes) of directly dependent crops.

<p>Predicted values (blue) include adjustments for serial autocorrelation and are the same as the predicted – structural values (also blue) based solely on the structural elements of the model. DD = directly dependent.</p

Total value of indirectly dependent crops.

<p>Predicted values (blue) include adjustments for serial autocorrelation and are the same as the predicted – structural values (also blue) based solely on the structural elements of the model. DID = indirectly dependent.</p

Value of directly dependent crops attributed to insect pollination.

<p>Predicted values (blue) include adjustments for serial autocorrelation and are the same as the predicted – structural values (also blue) based solely on the structural elements of the model. DD = directly dependent.</p