470 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1961 



for over 80 percent of all pollination effected. When swarms of bees 

 escape and go to the woods they are subject to the same hazards as 

 the native bees. Consequently their population in a wild or native 

 state is not building up. This leaves the only stable source of pollinat- 

 ing insects in the hands of beekeepers. 



The decline in seed and fruit production has been a matter of much 

 concern in those crops that require insect pollination. Utah at one 

 time was our leading alfalfa-seed-growing State. In its best year, 

 1925, Utah produced close to 25 million pounds of alfalfa seed. Over 

 the years this figure fell to a low of less than 4 million pounds. There 

 has been, however, an upward trend in production in recent years. 

 Can it be that the grower of alfalfa seed is beginning to realize that 

 Providence does not always bless the land with a sufficient number 

 of pollinators ? The grower must make a conscious effort to provide 

 pollinators, usually colonies of honey bees, if he is to realize maximum 

 seed possibilities. 



What value can be placed on the honey bee's contribution to agri- 

 culture, over and above the bee industry's production of honey and 

 beeswax ? The agricultural statistics for 1959 give a total farm value 

 of over $500 million for the following crops, all of which depend 

 heavily on honey-bee pollination for seed and fruit: apples, pears, 

 plums, sweet cherries, almonds, cucumbers, watermelons, cantaloupes, 

 .is well as seed of alfalfa, alsike, and white clover. In addition to 

 these, there are many others to which bees contribute their service 

 as pollinators. 



The growing of seed and fruit involves many operations. To name 

 only a few — use of viable seed and high producing varieties, cultiva- 

 tion, control of insect pests and diseases, pruning, soil enrichment and, 

 of course, pollination. Even if all the crops listed above were given 

 perfect growing conditions, there would be no production if pollinators 

 were excluded. In some areas, particularly in the Pacific Northwest 

 and places in the Intermountain States, certain species of native bees 

 are highly efficient pollinators. Bee for bee they can outperform the 

 honey bee. However, their numbers are too small to affect significantly 

 the pollination picture. Taking the country as a whole, honey bees 

 account for 80 percent or more of all insect pollination. 



Only 11 of the primary insect-pollinated crops with a farm value 

 of over $500 million are mentioned. Altogether, some 50 crops are 

 benefited by bee visitation. Through the legerdemain of statistics 

 we could say that honey bees, since they account for about 80 percent 

 of all insect pollination, enrich agriculture to the extent of $400 million 

 (80 percent of $500 million) annually not to mention the millions 

 they add to other crops. To go a step further, since bees are a "must" 

 in alfalfa and clover seed production and since the production of meat, 



