Crop Pollination by Bees, Volume 1 Evolution, Ecology, Conservation, and Management

About this book

Since the second half of the 20th Century, our agricultural bee pollinators have faced mounting threats from ecological disturbance and pan-global movement of pathogens and parasites. At the same time, the area of pollinator-dependent crops is increasing globally with no end in sight. Never before has so much been asked of our finite pool of bee pollinators. This book not only explores the evolutionary and ecologic bases of these dynamics, it translates this knowledge into practical research-based guidance for using bees to pollinate crops. It emphasizes conserving wild bee populations as well as culturing honey bees, bumble bees, and managed solitary bees.

To cover such a range of biology, theory, and practice from the perspectives of both the pollinator and the crop, the book is divided into two volumes. Volume 1 focuses on bees, their biology, coevolution with plants, foraging ecology and management, and gives practical ways to increase bee abundance and pollinating performance on the farm. Volume 2 focuses on crops, with chapters addressing crop-specific requirements and bee pollination management recommendations.

Both volumes will be essential reading for farmers, horticulturists and gardeners, researchers and professionals working in insect ecology and conservation, and students of entomology and crop protection.

Contents

1. Angiosperms and Bees: The Evolutionary Bases of Crop Pollination
2. Biology of Bees
3. What Makes a Good Pollinator?
4. Economic and Ecosystem Benefits of Bee Pollination
5. State of the World's Bee Pollinators and the Consequences for Crop Pollination
6. Applied Bee Conservation
7. Honeybees: Their Biology, Culture and Management for Pollination
8. Bumble Bees: Their Biology, Culture, and Management for Pollination
9. Managed Solitary Bees
10. Wild Bees
11. The Stingless Bees, Tribe Meliponini

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Biography

Keith Delaplane is a professor at the University of Georgia where he has responsibilities in research, graduate student advisement, and public outreach in pollinator management, social evolution, pathology, and conservation. He has won numerous awards including the highest honour for outreach faculty at the University of Georgia, a named professorship, the Walter B. Hill Fellow. In 2014 HRH Queen Elizabeth II recognized him as an honorary Member of the British Empire (MBE) for his research and education efforts throughout the U.K.