AGRI Grovestudies
Unit 1(a) - Importance of beneficial Insects | Management of Beneficial Insects
Importance of Beneficial Insects
Let's explore the importance of beneficial insects:
- Pest Control: Beneficial insects are natural predators or parasites of pests that can damage crops and plants. They help maintain a balanced ecosystem by controlling the population of harmful pests. By preying on or parasitizing pests, beneficial insects reduce the need for chemical pesticides, which can harm the environment, non-target species, and human health.
- Pollination: Many beneficial insects, such as bees, butterflies, and some species of flies, play a crucial role in pollination. Pollinators transfer pollen from one flower to another, enabling fertilization and the production of fruits and seeds. This process is essential for the reproduction of numerous plant species, including many fruits and vegetables that are crucial for human and animal diets.
- Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services: Beneficial insects contribute to the overall biodiversity of ecosystems. A diverse range of insect species is necessary for ecosystem resilience and stability. By maintaining balanced populations of insect species, beneficial insects help prevent outbreaks of pests and diseases that can disrupt ecological balance.
- Nutrient Cycling: Certain beneficial insects, like dung beetles, carrion beetles, and soil-dwelling insects, play a role in nutrient cycling. They help break down organic matter, such as dead animals and plant debris, into simpler components, releasing nutrients back into the soil. This process is essential for soil fertility and the overall health of terrestrial ecosystems.
- Biological Control in Agriculture: Beneficial insects are a crucial component of agricultural integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. IPM combines various methods to control pests sustainably, including biological control using beneficial insects. By releasing or conserving natural enemies of pests, farmers can reduce their reliance on chemical pesticides, leading to safer and more environmentally friendly agricultural practices.
- Support for Wild Plant Communities: Beneficial insects, especially pollinators, support the reproduction and survival of wild plant species. This helps maintain diverse plant communities, providing habitats and food sources for numerous other wildlife species.
- Economic Impact: The presence of beneficial insects can have significant economic benefits for agricultural and horticultural industries. By reducing crop losses due to pest damage and enhancing pollination, beneficial insects contribute to higher crop yields and quality, leading to increased profitability for farmers.
- Conservation and Sustainable Agriculture: Conserving beneficial insects is an essential part of promoting sustainable agriculture and protecting natural ecosystems. By creating habitats and providing resources for these insects, we can support their populations and ensure their continued contributions to the environment.
Beekeeping and Pollinators
Beekeeping is the practice of managing and maintaining beehives for the purpose of producing honey, beeswax, and other bee-related products. Beyond its economic value, beekeeping plays a crucial role in pollination, which is the transfer of pollen from male to female flower parts, enabling the reproduction of many plant species.
Beekeeping is also known as apiculture, derived from the Latin word 'Apiscultura', where 'Apis' means 'bee' and 'culture' implies 'cultivation through education'. The area where hives are kept is called an Apiary.
In the beginning, around 1953, about 230 beekeepers managed around 800 bee colonies in modern bee boxes, yielding about 1,200 kg of honey yearly. Currently, India has an estimated 2.5 million bee colonies, 250,000 beekeepers, and wild honey collectors, producing approximately 56,579 metric tons of honey valued at Rs. 476.04 crores. On average, each person in India consumes about 8.4 grams of honey per year.
Let's explore beekeeping and its importance in pollination:
- Honey Production: Beekeeping is primarily known for honey production. Honey is a natural sweetener rich in nutrients and has various culinary and medicinal uses.
- Beeswax: Beeswax, produced by bees to build their honeycombs, is used in candle-making, cosmetics, and other products.
- Pollen and Propolis: Beekeepers also collect pollen and propolis (a resinous substance) produced by bees. Pollen is a protein-rich food source, while propolis has medicinal properties.
- Royal Jelly: Some beekeepers harvest royal jelly, a nutrient-rich substance produced by young worker bees and fed to queen bees.
Importance of Beekeeping in Pollination:
- Pollination Services: Honeybees and other pollinators, like bumblebees and solitary bees, play a vital role in pollination. They visit flowers to collect nectar and pollen for their survival, inadvertently transferring pollen between flowers. This process is essential for the reproduction of numerous crops and wild plant species.
- Agricultural Importance: Many fruit and vegetable crops, such as apples, almonds, blueberries, and squash, rely on pollinators for successful fruit sets and higher yields. Beekeeping provides a supplementary pollination service, enhancing crop productivity and quality.
- Biodiversity Support: Beekeeping contributes to the conservation of native pollinators and their habitats. By creating safe environments for honeybees, beekeepers indirectly support wild bees and other pollinators, promoting overall biodiversity.
- Ecosystem Resilience: Pollinators are integral to the functioning and resilience of ecosystems. They ensure genetic diversity within plant populations, contributing to ecosystem stability and adaptability to environmental changes.
- Food Security: Pollinators are essential for global food security. Approximately 75% of major food crops depend on pollination, making pollinators vital for the production of diverse and nutritious diets.
- Economic Impact: The economic value of pollination services provided by bees and other insects is enormous. It is estimated that pollinators contribute billions of dollars to global agricultural production each year.
- Habitat Preservation: Protecting natural habitats and creating pollinator-friendly landscapes are essential for supporting native pollinator populations.
- Reducing Pesticide Use: Responsible use of pesticides, especially during pollinator foraging times, helps prevent the negative impacts of chemical exposure on bees and other pollinators.
- Promoting Beekeeping Best Practices: Encouraging sustainable and responsible beekeeping practices, including hive management, disease control, and resource availability, supports healthy bee colonies.
- Public Awareness and Education: Educating the public about the importance of pollinators and their conservation encourages positive actions to protect them.
- Around 4,000 years ago, Egyptians kept bees for honey, propolis, and wax in clay pots. Honeybees were a symbol of Lower Egypt.
- Ancient Greece and Rome practised beekeeping. Philosopher Aristotle wrote about bees' behaviours, and Hippocrates highlighted honey's value.
- Commercial beekeeping began in the 19th century. Rev. Langstroth created the modern Langstroth beehive with movable frames.
- Bees and honey were known in India for a long time, mentioned in epics and scriptures like the Rig Veda.
- People used hollowed-out trees and pots to attract swarming bees. These were moved to desired places once bees settled.
- In the early 1880s, movable frame hives were tried in Bengal and Punjab.
- In 1910, Rev. Newton developed the 'Newton Hive' suitable for the Asiatic hive bee.
- The All India Beekeepers' Association was established in 1938-39, promoting beekeeping as a cottage industry.
- European honey bees (A. mellifera) were introduced in 1880 but struggled to establish in India.
The Honey bees belong to the superfamily Apoidea and the family Apidae and the order Hymenoptera. The commercialized honey bees in India are two domesticated/hive bees. Apis mellifera Linn. and Apis cerana F. and two well-known wild species, Apis dorsata F. and Apis florea F.
There are five important species of honey bees as follows:-
1. Apis dorsata : The rock bee
2. Apis cerana indica : The Indian hive bee
3. Apis florea : The little bee
4. Apis mellifera : The European or Italian bee
5. Trigona iridipennis (T. laeviceps) : Dammer bee, stingless bee
Beekeeping is not only about honey and bee-related products but also has significant implications for pollination and global food security. Bees and other pollinators play an irreplaceable role in agriculture and ecosystems, making beekeeping a critical practice for sustainable food production and biodiversity conservation.
Bee Biology
Bee biology refers to the study of the life cycle, anatomy, behaviour, and physiological processes of bees. Bees are fascinating social insects that play a crucial role in pollination and the ecosystem. Understanding bee biology is essential for effective beekeeping practices and conserving these vital pollinators. Let's explore some key aspects of bee biology:
1. Life Cycle
Egg: The life cycle of a bee begins with an egg laid by the queen bee inside a honeycomb cell. Eggs are laid by the queen and when a colony wants to produce a new queen, a special cell is constructed at the lower border of the brood comb. On these cells, a single egg is laid by the queen in each cell which hatched after 3 days. The newly hatched grubs are provided with royal jelly.
Nuptial Flight and Mating: The young queen flies with drones 2-3 days later. She mates with a drone, and the male drone dies after the copulation. The mated queen stores the sperm for future use.
Egg Laying: The new queen starts laying eggs, becoming the "mother queen". Eggs hatch in 3-4 days; they are light brown and oval. The queen checks cells before laying. Different types of bees have different-sized cells for development.
Larva: The egg hatches into a larva, which is a legless, grub-like form that depends on nurse bees to feed it with royal jelly for 2-3 days, and then given honey and nectar. Grubs develop from eggs, resulting in workers and queens from fertilized eggs and drones from unfertilized eggs.
Pupa: After several days of feeding, the larva spins a cocoon around itself and transforms into a pupa. During this stage, the bee undergoes metamorphosis and transforms into an adult bee.
The pupal period lasts for about 7-14 days depending upon the type of adult to be produced.
Adult:
Once the metamorphosis is complete, the adult bee chews its way out of the cocoon, and emerges as a fully developed bee.
2. Anatomy
Head: The head of a bee contains mouthparts, antennae, compound eyes, and a pair of simple eyes (ocelli).
Thorax: The thorax is the middle section of the bee's body, which houses the three pairs of legs and two pairs of wings.
Abdomen: The abdomen is the rear section of the bee's body, containing the digestive and reproductive organs.
3. Social Structure
Duties:
• Lays eggs (up to 2000/day), maintaining a strong colony.
• Mates with drones after emerging and storing sperm.
• Lives for about 3 years, replaced when unable to lay eggs.
• Secretes "queen's substance" for colony cohesion.
Duties:
• Fertilizes the queen
• Helps with maintenance of hive temperature.
They have a Divided lifespan: house duty (3 weeks) and outdoor duty (rest of the life).
- Household duty includes:
- Building a comb with wax secretion from wax glands.
- Feed the young larvae with royal jelly secreted from the hypopharyngeal gland.
- Feed older larvae with bee bread (pollen honey)
- Feeding and attending queen.
- Feeding drones.
- Cleaning, ventilating and cooling the hive.
- Guarding the hive.
- Evaporating nectar and storing honey.
- Outdoor duty includes
- Collecting nectar, pollen, propolis and water.
- Ripening honey in the honey stomach.
4. Behaviour and Activities
Foraging: Worker bees forage for nectar, pollen, and water to bring back to the hive as food and resources.
- Field bees collect pollen, nectar, propolis, and water.
- Scout bees find new sources and communicate through dancing.
- Bees focus on specific plant species.
- Foraging within 100 meters (up to 1.5 km), speed of 25-30 km/h.
- Active at 25-27°C, avoid wind speeds over 24 km/h.
- Nectar collected, mixed with saliva, and converted in the hive.
- Pollen carried in pollen baskets, stored in cells.
- Propolis collected and used for hive maintenance.
Dancing:
- Honey bees communicate food source details through dances.
- Two dances: round dance (short distance) and tail-wagging dance (longer distance).
- Direction and distance conveyed through dance speed and angle.
- Prof. Karl von Frisch discovered and interpreted bee language in the 1920s.
- Bees also use sound for communication.
Swarming: When a hive becomes overcrowded, a new queen is raised, and the old queen and a portion of the colony leave to form a new hive. This is known as swarming.
- Daughter queen cells built at the bottom.
- Swarming involves a new queen and worker group.
- Swarm relocates, new comb is built.
- Emerged daughter queen becomes mother queen.
Comb Building
- Beeswax secreted, and formed into the comb with mandibles.
- Hexagonal cells for honey, pollen, brood, and more.
- Young bees hang to build comb and differentiate cell sizes.
- Cells are arranged based on usage and size.
- The freshly built comb is white and darkens over time.
Absconding and Migration:
- Absconding due to various factors like food shortage, pests, or environmental issues.
- Bees leave behind empty combs and sometimes food.
- Prevented by providing water or sugar solution near the hive.
5. Pollination
Importance: Bees are essential pollinators for many flowering plants, including crops like fruits, vegetables, nuts, and oilseeds. They transfer pollen between flowers, enabling fertilization and the production of fruits and seeds.
Behavioural Adaptations: Bees have co-evolved with flowers and have specialized adaptations, such as hairy bodies and specialized mouthparts (proboscis), which enable them to efficiently collect and transfer pollen.
Commercial Methods of Bee Rearing:
Commercial methods of bee rearing are the techniques of keeping honey bees in a controlled and scientific manner for the production of honey and other bee products. There are different types of commercial methods of bee rearing, such as:
- Indigenous method: This is the traditional method of beekeeping, where bees are kept in clay pots, wooden boxes, bamboo baskets, or wall cavities. This method is simple and cheap, but it has many disadvantages, such as low honey yield, poor quality of honey, difficulty in inspecting and managing the colonies, and high risk of diseases and pests.
- Modern method: This is the improved method of beekeeping, where bees are kept in specially designed hives, such as Langstroth hive, Newton hive, Dadant hive, etc. These hives have movable frames that allow easy manipulation and inspection of the colonies. This method has many advantages, such as high honey yield, good quality of honey, better management and protection of the colonies, and easy harvesting of honey and wax.
Some of the common practices involved in modern methods of bee rearing are:
- Selection of suitable bee species: Different species of honey bees have different characteristics and preferences. For commercial beekeeping, it is important to select the species that are suitable for the local climate, flora, and market demand. Some of the common species of honey bees that are reared commercially are Apis dorsata (rock bee), Apis indica (Indian bee), Apis florea (little bee), Apis mellifera (European bee), etc.
- Selection of suitable site for apiary: An apiary is a place where beehives are kept. For commercial beekeeping, it is important to select a site that has adequate bee pastures (flowering plants), water sources, shade, protection from wind and predators, and accessibility.
- Management of colonies: This involves regular inspection and maintenance of the colonies to ensure their health and productivity. Some of the tasks involved in colony management are feeding the bees with sugar syrup or pollen supplements during scarcity periods, controlling the swarming tendency by providing adequate space and ventilation, preventing robbing by other bees or insects, controlling diseases and pests by using proper hygiene and medication, etc.
- Harvesting of honey and other products: This involves collecting the honey and other products from the hives without harming or disturbing the bees. Some of the methods used for harvesting are smoking the bees to make them calm and inactive, removing the frames with honey combs from the hive, uncapping the combs with a knife or a fork to expose the honey cells, extracting the honey from the combs using a centrifugal machine or a press, filtering and bottling the honey for storage or sale, etc. Other products that can be harvested from the hives are beeswax (used for making candles, cosmetics, polishes, etc), propolis (used for making medicines, paints, varnishes, etc), pollen (used as a food supplement), royal jelly (used as a health tonic), venom (used for treating various diseases), etc.
Commercial methods of bee rearing are beneficial for both humans and nature. They provide us with valuable products that have nutritional, medicinal, and industrial uses. They also help in pollination of crops and plants that enhance agricultural productivity and biodiversity. Beekeeping is an eco-friendly and sustainable activity that can generate income and employment for many people.
Equipment Used in Commercial Beekeeping:
Commercial beekeeping requires specialized equipment and skills to manage and harvest the colonies efficiently and safely. Some of the equipment used in commercial beekeeping are:
- Hives: These are the structures that house the bee colonies. They are usually made of wood, metal, or plastic, and have movable frames that hold the combs where the bees store honey, pollen, and brood (eggs, larvae, and pupae). There are different types of hives, such as Langstroth hive, Newton hive, Dadant hive, etc., that vary in size, shape, and design.
- Smoker: This is a device that produces smoke from burning materials such as pine needles, wood shavings, or cardboard. The smoke is used to calm the bees and make them less defensive when the beekeeper opens the hive or manipulates the frames. The smoke also masks the alarm pheromone that the bees release when they are disturbed or attacked.
- Protective gear: This includes clothing and accessories that protect the beekeeper from bee stings and venom. The protective gear usually consists of a jacket or suit with a veil or hood that covers the head and face, gloves that cover the hands and wrists, and boots that cover the feet and ankles. Some beekeepers also wear hats, goggles, masks, or ear plugs for extra protection.
- Hive tool: This is a metal tool that has a flat end and a curved end. It is used to pry open the hive, loosen the frames, scrape off propolis or wax, cut off excess comb, and perform other tasks inside the hive. The hive tool is an essential tool for any beekeeper.
- Bee brush: This is a soft-bristled brush that is used to gently sweep off the bees from the frames or combs without harming them. The bee brush is useful for removing bees from unwanted places or for harvesting honey or wax.
- Extractor: This is a machine that spins the frames or combs with honey at high speed and forces the honey out by centrifugal force. The extractor can be manual or electric, and can have different capacities depending on the number of frames or combs it can hold. The extractor is used to harvest honey without damaging the combs.
- Uncapping knife: This is a knife that has a serrated edge and is heated by electricity or hot water. It is used to cut off the wax caps that seal the honey cells in the combs. The uncapping knife is used before extracting the honey from the combs.
- Filter: This is a device that has a mesh or cloth that allows the honey to pass through but removes any impurities such as wax bits, pollen grains, or bee parts. The filter is used after extracting the honey from the combs to improve its quality and appearance.
- Bottler: This is a device that has a tank that holds the filtered honey and a valve that controls its flow. It is used to fill bottles or jars with honey for storage or sale. The bottler can have different sizes and shapes depending on the volume and type of containers it can fill.
- Hive Scale: Electronic scales placed under hives to monitor colony weight changes, helping beekeepers assess hive health and honey stores.
- Wax Melter: Equipment used to melt and purify beeswax extracted from frames and comb.
These are some of the equipment used in commercial beekeeping. There are also other equipment that are used for specific purposes or situations, such as queen excluder, queen rearing kit, grafting tool, swarm trap, feeder, etc. Commercial beekeeping equipment can be purchased from online portals, local suppliers, or specialized stores.
Seasonal Management in Commercial Beekeeping:
- Spring: In spring, beekeepers focus on hive expansion, making sure colonies have enough space for population growth and honey storage.
- Summer: During summer, beekeepers monitor hives for potential issues like swarming and pests. They extract surplus honey and prepare colonies for pollination services if required.
- Fall: Beekeepers prepare hives for winter by ensuring adequate food stores (honey) and insulating hives to protect the colonies from extreme cold.
- Winter: In winter, beekeepers minimise hive disturbances to allow bees to conserve energy and focus on survival. They may provide supplemental feeding if necessary.
- Disease and Pest Management: Throughout the year, beekeepers actively manage and monitor for diseases and pests that can affect the health of the colonies, taking appropriate measures to mitigate risks.
