International Symposium on Conservation And Management of Pollinators for Sustainable Agriculture and Ecosystem Services

One-third of the world’s crops demand pollination to set seeds and fruits and the great majority of them are pollinated by many of the estimated 25,000 species of bees. The annual value of this service in the U.S. is calculated at US $6-8 billion and the estimate worldwide is US $ 65-70 billion. Honeybees in many parts of the world have contracted a serious disease and the numbers of honeybee colonies have decreased dramatically. Fruit and vegetable growers in the U.S.A, Canada, Europe, India and several other countries  are complaining about poor fruit sets despite good blooming. As the disease has spread throughout most of the world, specialists consider all countries will become seriously affected. Farmers and growers now wish to use native of bees. Many species of native bees are known to be efficient pollinators of crops and a few species have been managed for this purpose. However, the numbers of native bees are dwindling; some species seriously. Declines in numbers have been reported in North and Central America and Europe. The losses are due mostly to the use of agrochemicals and monocultures, to deforestation, and possibly to the introduction of exotic Pollinators.