Wild Bees and their Conservation

Abstract

About sustainable agricultural environment and world food security, major crops mainly dependent upon managed honey bees and wild bee pollinators which are of great significance. Bee pollinated crops being a great part of the bio-diverse system, 4,000 native bees, and offer over US$1.5 billion each year in North America. In US, the value of wild bees in food production was determined to be over $1.5 billion annually. However, the worth of wild bee pollination in insect cross pollinated crops may be much more. These great wild players are now in fast declining phase or possibly extinct due to human-disturbed habitats. More investigations are required in various topics of wild bee fauna, such as basic studies in population biology, abundance, bee protection measures, suitable habitat, nesting sites especially their immediate conservation strategies. After realizing the importance of wild bees in pollination, in the present review, we highlight the various measures and actions to conserve the wild bees so that they can serve the growers as co-players to managed honey bees in boosting the agricultural food production worldwide.