Behavior and Ecology of Pollinators: Focus on Honeybees

Global hunger and malnutrition demand high crop yields. In this scenario, pollination, especially by honeybees, play crucial role in agriculture and horticultural crops. Modern crop cultivation enhances yields by nearly threefold. Simultaneously, hybrids and high-yielding varieties will be prone to the attack of arthropod pests and diseases, and require thorough chemical applications, harming the ecosystem balancers like honeybees. Conservation of these yield-promoting bees is a prime concern worldwide. For better conservation practices, it is important to study every aspect of them. In this chapter evolution of bees, communication, bee flora, foraging behavior, economic value of pollinators, reasons for the decline of pollinators, and their conservation are highlighted.