other insects also visit flowers and to some extent pollinate them. Nectar 
and pollen are rarely the principal food of such insects, whereas these 
substances supply the entire nourishment of both the young and adults of 
honeybees and wild bees. 
When nature shows a proper balance between plants and pollinating 
insects, both the plants and the insects flourish. Agricultural develop- 
ment, however, has seriously interfered with this balance. It has demanded 
the growing of certain plants in enormous acreages and unwittingly destroyed 
native pollinating insects as well as their nesting places. As a result 
the burden of pollination has been increased to such an extent that wild 
bees are no longer adequate or dependable, particularly where agriculture 
is highly developed. Both the reduction in wild beneficial insects and the 
increase in the crops requiring insect pollination have been gradual. While 
these changes were occurring commercial beekeeping had its inception, and 
fortunately so, since the presence of honeybees in most areas has not only 
overcome the shortage of wild pollinators but has permitted more thorough 
pollination than would have been possible under natural conditions. Con- 
sequently, plant growers and farmers generally have not been greatly con- 
cerned about pollination simply because someone else has taken care of the 
bees. No State or Federal agency has assumed the responsibility for con- 
serving wild pollinating insects, although some species, bee for bee, are 
more efficient than honeybees and will work under more adverse conditions. 
For this reason measures should be taken to conserve our native pollinating 
insects. 
In practically all agricultural regions honeybees are the most 
numerous flower-visiting insects, and in many places the depletion of wild 
pollinators is so acute that honeybees have to be brought in especially for 
pollination. The fertilization of plant flowers is so essential that 
beekeeping must be carried on to maintain a profitable agriculture, and it 
may be necessary to subsidize the keeping of bees, since there is no practical 
substitute for honeybees in the transfer of pollen from flower to flower 
and plant to plant. 
Owing to conditions brought about by the present war the beekeeping 
industry must be safeguarded. Beekeeping can be mastered only through 
years of experience. It cannot be learned as a trade is learned, and 
there is no floating population of persons seeking employment in bee- 
keeping. The fact that bees have a propensity for stinging discourages 
many persons from keeping bees, and only certain persons possess the proper 
temperament to be beekeepers. For these reasons every experienced bee- 
keeper should be encouraged to continue with his bees. Since only exper- 
ienced persons can handle bees, it is almost impossible to find anyone 
capable of taking care of an apiary in the absence of the owner. Therefore, 
beekeepers called into the military service often have no other choice than 
to kill the bees, melt the combs, and sell the wax and used equipment. 
Bees are not good collateral, for neither the banks nor the Government will 
accept them as security for loans. 
