By Evelyn Night
Pollination, the transfer of male reproductive units to female reproductive organs of plants is a crucial process to produce about 35% of the food we eat. This process can occur automatically or use the services of agents of pollination such as wind, water, and animals. Animal pollinators are the biggest contributors to the pollination of crops not pollinated by wind or water, of these, insects make the most effective pollinators.
While some farmed crops such as maize and millet might not need insects, many other crops including beans, pumpkins, avocado, and others can only produce good harvests if pollination is conducted. Therefore, you should ensure that your farm gets pollinators to facilitate fertilization and food production. The benefits of pollinators can be best demonstrated by recent research done by scientists at icipe that showed the yield of avocado improved by 20% when honeybee hives were placed on farms.
Pollination by stingless bees
Stingless bees are a relatively smaller member of the family Apidae (bumble bees, honeybees, orchid bees) that have a non-functional sting. The unique feature of members in this group is their smaller size, unique colony architecture, and honey quality. Like honeybees, they form their colonies on tree trunks and roof material in dwelling areas. However, some stingless bee species prefer to burrow in the soil or a rock crevice, occupy a termite mound, or even find residence inside mud walls.
Characteristics of stingless bees:
(I) They have smaller bodies useful in accessing especially small and narrow flowers.
(II) Stingless bees are true generalists; they will visit any flower that is open and do not choose between plants as honeybees do sometimes.
(III) Another important aspect of stingless bees is that they are tame, which means that they do not sting, hence they can be kept on farms that are close to residential areas without a problem.
(IV) Stingless bees also like permanence, this means that they will not abandon their hive as often as the honeybees do, hence farmers are assured of an all-year-round pollination provision if the right conditions are met.
(V) While honeybee colonies have hexagonal-shaped combs that are used in rearing brood (young bees) and storage of honey stingless bees form round pot-like structures made of plant resin that are positioned side by side and bundled in a misshapen circular structure. Each circular level is stacked upon another hence forming a spiral brood as shown in the figure below:
Similarities with honeybees
These are used to rear their brood. Stingless be