Which Crops and Plants Are Pollinated By Honey Bees?

What Is Bee Pollination?

Bee pollination is one type of entomophily, which is pollination performed by insects. Bees are one of the most common pollinators and manage to visit several different plant species in a single afternoon. Bees land on these various plants and collect pollen and nectar, which they carry back to their hives as food for the colony. As they travel from plant to plant, bees deposit pollen on the female reproductive organs of new plants. This transfer of pollen allows for fertilization.

The Importance of Bee Pollination

Pollination is perhaps the most important function of bees, particularly honey bees. In fact, research shows that bees are responsible for pollinating approximately 16% of global flowering plants and around 400 agricultural crop plants. In 2010, honey bees (along with other pollinators) contributed to the pollination of around $19 billion worth of agricultural crops. This article takes a closer look at which specific crops are pollinated by honey bees.

Which Crops Are Pollinated By Honey Bees?

The importance of honey bee pollination varies per crop and can be classified as one of the following: essential, great, modest, and little.

Essential

Honey bee pollination is considered essential for eight crops: kiwifruit, passion fruit, rowanberry, watermelon, squash (includes pumpkin, gourd, and zucchini), macadamia nut, and brazil nut. These plants grow across a wide variety of agricultural climates, from temperate to tropical.

Kiwifruit is most successfully pollinated via saturation pollination. This method is when agricultural workers put about 8 hives for every 2.5 acres, thereby forcing bees to collect pollen from solely kiwifruit blossoms.

Passion fruit is most successfully pollinated via bee pollination because its pollen is too heavy and sticky to be transported across the wind. In the US state of Florida, for example, honey bees are the only pollinator for the yellow passion fruit species. In Australia, agricultural workers encourage honey bee pollination by placing 2 to 3 hives for every 2.5 acres.

Great

Bee pollination is characterized as having great importance in the following crops: cashew, starfruit, turnip, coriander, cucumber, durian, cardamom, loquat, buckwheat, feijoa, fennel, apple, mango, avocado, allspice, apricot, sweet and sour cherries, plum, almond, peach, pear, rose hips, raspberry, blackberry, naranjillo, and blueberry.

Of these crops, blueberries require the greatest number of honey bee hives per acre, between 3 and 4 colonies on each acre. Blueberries are unable to self-pollinate and produce sticky, heavy pollen, which means this plant relies on insects to help it achieve fertilization. In Australia, honey bees make up 95% of the insects that pollinate this crop. Blueberry blossoms attract bees with sweet nectar, which is produced at the base of the stigma.

Almonds are next, in terms of the number of colonies needed for pollination. This crop requires between 2 and 3 hives per acre for proper pollination. The almond plant attracts honey bees and other insects because it produces flowers earlier in the season than other crops, making it one of the only food sources available.

Modest

Crops that fall under modest honey bee pollination include: eggplant, jujube, karite, broad bean, service tree, sesame, elderberry, black currant, pomegranate, guava, prickly pear cactus, mammee apple, sunflower, cotton, strawberry, hyacinth bean, coffee plants, coconut, chestnut, caraway, sword bean, rapeseed, mustard, strawberry, and okra.

A list of the important crop plants that rely on honey bee pollination can be found in the chart published below.

Which Crops Plants Are Pollinated By Honey Bees?

Rank	Common name	Latin name	Pollinator	Commercial product of pollination
1	Okra	Abelmoschus esculentus	Honey bees (incl. Apis cerana), Solitary bees (Halictus spp.)	fruit
2	Kiwifruit	Actinidia deliciosa	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	fruit
3	Onion	Allium cepa	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Blow flies	seed
4	Cashew	Anacardium occidentale	Honey bees, Stingless bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees (Centris tarsata), Butterflies, Flies, hummingbirds	nut
5	Celery	Apium graveolens	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Flies	seed
6	Strawberry tree	Arbutus unedo	Honey bees, Bumblebees	fruit
7	Carambola, Starfruit	Averrhoa carambola	Honey bees, Stingless bees	fruit
8	Beet	Beta vulgaris	Hover Flies, Honey bees, Solitary bees	seed
9	Mustard	Brassica alba, Brassica hirta, Brassica nigra	Honey bees, Solitary bees (Osmia cornifrons, Osmia lignaria)	seed
10	Rapeseed	Brassica napus	Honey bees, Solitary bees	seed
11	Broccoli	Brassica oleracea cultivar	Honey bees, Solitary bees	seed
12	Cauliflower	Brassica oleracea Botrytis Group	Honey bees, Solitary bees	seed
13	Cabbage	Brassica oleracea Capitata Group	Honey bees, Solitary bees	seed
14	Brussels sprouts	Brassica oleracea Gemmifera Group	Honey bees, Solitary bees	seed
15	Chinese cabbage	Brassica rapa	Honey bees, Solitary bees	seed
16	Turnip, Canola	Brassica rapa	Honey bees, Solitary bees (Andrena ilerda, Osmia cornifrons, Osmia lignaria, Halictus spp.), Flies	seed
17	Pigeon pea, Cajan pea, Congo bean	Cajanus cajan	Honey bees, Solitary bees (Megachile spp.), Carpenter bees	seed
18	Chilli pepper, Red pepper, Bell pepper, Green pepper	Capsicum annuum, Capsicum frutescens	Honey bees, Stingless bees (Melipona spp.), Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Hover flies	fruit
19	Papaya	Carica papaya	Honey bees, thrips, large sphinx moths, Moths, Butterflies	fruit
20	Safflower	Carthamus tinctorius	Honey bees, Solitary bees	seed
21	Caraway	Carum carvi	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Flies	seed
22	Chestnut	Castanea sativa	Honey bees, Solitary bees	nut
23	Watermelon	Citrullus lanatus	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	fruit
24	Tangerine	Citrus tangerina	Honey bees, Bumblebees	fruit
25	Orange, Grapefruit, Tangelo	Citrus spp.	Honey bees, Bumblebees	fruit
26	Coconut	Cocos nucifera	Honey bees, Stingless bees	nut
27	Coffea spp. Coffea arabica, Coffea canephora	Coffea spp.	Honey bees, Stingless bees, Solitary bees	fruit
28	Coriander	Coriandrum sativum	Honey bees, Solitary bees	seed
29	Crownvetch	Coronilla varia L.	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	seed (increased yield from pollinators)
30	Azarole	Crataegus azarolus	Honey bees, Solitary bees	fruit
31	Cantaloupe, Melon	Cucumis melo L.	Honey bees, Squash bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees (Ceratina spp.)	fruit
32	Cucumber	Cucumis sativus	Honey bees, Squash bees, Bumblebees, Leafcutter bee (in greenhouse pollination), Solitary bees (for some parthenocarpic gynoecious green house varieties pollination is detrimental to fruit quality)	fruit
33	Squash (plant), Pumpkin, Gourd, Marrow, Zucchini	Cucurbita spp.	Honey bees, Squash bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	fruit
34	Guar bean, Goa bean	Cyamopsis tetragonoloba	Honey bees	seed
35	Quince	Cydonia oblonga Mill.	Honey bees	fruit
36	Lemon		Honey bees	fruit
37	Lime		Honey bees	fruit
38	Carrot	Daucus carota	Flies, Solitary bees, Honey bees	seed
39	Hyacinth bean	Dolichos spp.	Honey bees, Solitary bees	seed
40	Longan	Dimocarpus longan	Honey bees, Stingless bees
41	Persimmon	Diospyros kaki, Diospyros virginiana	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	fruit
42	Cardamom	Elettaria cardamomum	Honey bees, Solitary bees
43	Loquat	Eriobotrya japonica	Honey bees, Bumblebees	fruit
44	Buckwheat	Fagopyrum esculentum	Honey bees, Solitary bees	seed
45	Feijoa	Feijoa sellowiana	Honey bees, Solitary bees	fruit
46	Fennel	Foeniculum vulgare	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Flies	seed
47	Strawberry	Fragaria spp.	Honey bees, Stingless bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees (Halictus spp.), Hover flies	fruit
48	Cotton	Gossypium spp.	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	seed, fiber
49	Sunflower	Helianthus annuus	Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Honey bees	seed
50	Flax	Linum usitatissimum	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	seed
51	Lychee	Litchi chinensis	Honey bees, Flies	fruit
52	Lupine	Lupinus angustifolius L.	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	seed
53	Macadamia	Macadamia ternifolia	Honey bees, Stingless bees (Trigona carbonaria), Solitary bees (Homalictus spp.), Wasps, Butterflies	nut
54	Acerola	Malpighia glabra	Honey bees, Solitary bees	fruit (minor commercial value)
55	Apple	Malus domestica, or Malus sylvestris	Honey bees, orchard mason bee, Bumblebees, Solitary bees (Andrena spp., Halictus spp., Osmia spp., Anthophora spp.), Hover flies (Eristalis cerealis, Eristalis tenax)	fruit
56	Mango	Mangifera indica	Honey bees, Stingless bees, Flies, Ants, Wasps	fruit
57	Alfalfa	Medicago sativa	Alfalfa leafcutter bee, Alkali bee, Honey bees	seed
58	Rambutan	Nephelium lappaceum	Honey bees, Stingless bees, Flies	fruit
59	Sainfoin	Onobrychis spp.	Honey bees, Solitary bees	seed
60	Avocado	Persea americana	Stingless bees, Solitary bees, Honey bees	fruit
61	Lima bean, Kidney bean, Haricot bean, Adzuki bean, Mungo bean, String bean, Green bean	Phaseolus spp.	Honey bees, Solitary bees	fruit, seed
62	Scarlet runner bean	Phaseolus coccineus L.	Bumblebees, Honey bees, Solitary bees, Thrips	seed
63	Allspice	Pimenta dioica	Honey bees, Solitary bees (Halictus spp., Exomalopsis spp., Ceratina spp.)
64	Apricot	Prunus armeniaca	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Flies	fruit
65	Sweet Cherry	Prunus avium spp.	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Flies	fruit
66	Sour cherry	Prunus cerasus	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Flies	fruit
67	Plum, Greengage, Mirabelle, Sloe	Prunus domestica, Prunus spinosa	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Flies	fruit
68	Almond	Prunus dulcis, Prunus amygdalus, or Amygdalus communis	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees (Osmia cornuta), Flies	nut
69	Peach, Nectarine	Prunus persica	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Flies	fruit
70	Guava	Psidium guajava	Honey bees, Stingless bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees (Lasioglossum spp.)	fruit
71	Pomegranate	Punica granatum	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Beetles	fruit
72	Pear	Pyrus communis	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Hover flies (Eristalis spp.)	fruit
73	Black currant, Red currant	Ribes nigrum, Ribes rubrum	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	fruit
74	Rose hips, Dogroses	Rosa spp.	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Carpenter bees, Solitary bees, Hover flies
75	Boysenberry	Rubus spp.	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	fruit
76	Raspberry	Rubus idaeus	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Hover flies (Eristalis spp.)	fruit
77	Blackberry	Rubus fruticosus	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees, Hover flies (Eristalis spp.)	fruit
78	Elderberry	Sambucus nigra	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Flies, Longhorn beetles	fruit
79	Sesame	Sesamum indicum	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Wasps, Flies	seed
80	Rowanberry	Sorbus aucuparia	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Bumblebees, Hover flies	fruit
81	Hog plum	Spondias spp.	Honey bees, Stingless bees (Melipona spp.)	fruit
82	Tamarind	Tamarindus indica	Honey bees (incl. Apis dorsata)	fruit
83	Clover (not all species)	Trifolium spp.	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	seed
84	White clover	Trifolium alba	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	seed
85	Alsike clover	Trifolium hybridum L.	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	seed
86	Crimson clover	Trifolium incarnatum	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	seed
87	Red clover	Trifolium pratense	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	seed
88	Arrowleaf clover	Trifolium vesiculosum Savi	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	seed
89	Cranberry	Vaccinium oxycoccus, Vaccinium macrocarpon	Bumblebees (Bombus affinis), Solitary bees (Megachile addenda, Alfalfa leafcutter bees), Honey bees	fruit
90	Broad bean	Vicia faba	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	seed
91	Vetch	Vicia spp.	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	seed
92	Cowpea, Black-eyed pea, Blackeye bean	Vigna unguiculata	Honey bees, Bumblebees, Solitary bees	seed
93	Karite	Vitellaria paradoxa	Honey bees	nut
94	Grape	Vitis spp.	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Flies	fruit
95	Jujube	Zizyphus jujuba	Honey bees, Solitary bees, Flies, Beetles, Wasps	fruit