The Honeybee in Agriculture

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Since 1992, the honeybee has been Oklahoma’s state insect, largely because honeybees carry out a significant task in agriculture. The honeybee and its contributions to the world dates back thousands of years ago and continues to be by far one of the most extraordinary animals ever. Honeybees are being used in research to detect drugs, bombs and cancer. Also in developing treatments for an array of infirmities in humans, but this is just a few among many things that honeybees have contributed to the human world. Honeybees and the products they emit have many diverse uses in cultures around the world. But above all the amazing and important things, plant pollination is by far the most essential to humans. Honeybees are responsible for 80% of all insect pollination, they pollinate over ninety fruits and vegetable crops worldwide. If honeybee were to completely disappear from our world it would be devastating. We would be limited in our food selections and possibly worse. Albert Einstein once said,”If the honeybees become exstinct, mankind will follow within four years.” To better understand how vital honeybees are to the world we must first understand more about the honeybee itself. Honeybees have been around before written history, they have been traced back over 40 million years ago and have remained physically and socially unchanged for 30 million years. Honeybees are not native to North America and are thought to have originated in tropical Africa. They are thought to have been brought here by Spanish and English colonists. Honeybees live together as community called a colony. A colony consists of one queen, hundreds of male honeybees called drones, and thousands of female honeybees known as workers. Colonies can reach up to 80,...

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...ncer: Honey Bees. 24 November 2012. web. 24 February 2014. <>.
More, Daphne. The Bee Book: The History and Natural History of the Bee. New York: Universe Books, 1976. Print.
"Pollination." n.d. Bees for Development. web. February 2014. >.
"The World Book of Encyclopedia." Vol. II B. U.S.A.: World Book Inc., 1987. 154-161. Print.
"Waggle Dance." Wikipedia. n.d. web. February 2014. .
Wagner, Holly, Geraldine Wright and Julie Mustard. Latest Buzz in Research: Intoxicated Honey Bees may Clue Scientists into Drunken Human Behavior. n.d. Web. 24 February 2014. .
Winston, Mark L. The Biology of the Honey Bee. Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1987. Print.

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